#quantum physics for beginners

[thevirginwitch]

Greetings, dear friend. Could you share your thoughts on what is a quantum transition in the magical sense? What do you think about it? I will be very grateful for your reply!

Hello hello!

Unfortunately, anything "quantum" (specifically in new age/spiritual/witchcraft spaces) usually has nothing to do with witchcraft/magic and is deeply rooted in pseudoscience - so I (nor will anyone else) have any information for you on this. Quantum physics and other topics are much more complicated then folks want to believe, which leads to a lot of misinformation and, ultimately, folks falling for pseudoscience. More specifically, I've found that new witches/practitioners that are looking for a "scientific" reasoning that witchcraft works tend to fall down this rabbit hole of new-age beliefs such as vibrations, quantum physics, etc. (which, again, are complete pseudoscience).

@creature-wizard might have more feedback/information for you that can point you in the right direction, if you are interested in educating yourself on how terms like "quantum" are used in new-age spaces!

(Also, I cannot help but laugh at the thought that you would ask me this question - as if I know ANYTHING about the subject of quantum physics, LOL. I am not some hot-shot scientist. I'm just someone who likes to practice witchcraft and read/write about it.)

[factflick]

Parallel Universes: A Beginner's Guide to Reality's Funhouse Mirror

Alright, folks! Buckle up, because we’re about to embark on a cosmic rollercoaster ride through the wacky world of parallel universes. By the end of this, you’ll either be completely fascinated or questioning your life choices. Possibly both. Ready? Let’s go! The What and Why of Parallel Universes Imagine you’re at a mega-cinema complex with countless movie theaters. Each theater is playing a…

[luxludus]

Understanding Quantum Entanglement: A Beginner's Guide

Introduction to Quantum Entanglement The Basics of Quantum Entanglement Quantum entanglement is a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics, a branch of physics that describes the behavior of particles at the smallest scales, such as atoms and subatomic particles. When particles become entangled, they form a single quantum system, even if they are separated by vast distances. This means that the…

[barnacles34]

Lost in Analysis (Winter x Male OC)

5k words, smut, fluff, happiness, data

Winter x Male OC

The thing about Junho Kim's[1] weekly debriefs with Minjeong Kim was that they followed a precise algorithm, an almost liturgical routine that both participants had wordlessly agreed upon circa Winter's third month of employment (viz. April 2024). The format went as follows: Winter would arrive at exactly 18:30 on Friday bearing a leather-bound portfolio containing the week's logistics reports, margin analyses, and projected Q3/Q4 modeling scenarios. Junho would pretend to study these for exactly twelve minutes while Winter sat in the ergonomic chair across his desk, her accent becoming pronounced in direct proportion to her anxiety level[2].

What happened on this particular Friday deviated from the algorithm in ways that would later prove significant, starting with Winter's arrival at 18:27[3].

"The Busan account numbers are off," Junho said, his photographic memory already detecting a 0.03% discrepancy in the third-quarter projections. The words emerged with the mechanical precision of someone who had learned human speech through technical manuals rather than conversation. "This is—" he paused, index finger tapping against his mahogany desk in a rapidfire motion that Winter had learned to recognize as his pre-explosion tell, "—unacceptable."

And then something unprecedented occurred.

Instead of her usual composed absorption of his critique, Winter's face crumpled into what could only be described as a squeaky whimper, a sound so incongruous with her usual professional demeanor that it seemed to physically stun Junho into silence. It was the acoustic equivalent of watching a Mercedes-Benz hiccup.

The algorithm crashed.

—

[1] Junho Kim, CEO of Quantum Logistics Solutions, net worth $2.3B (₩3.1T), possessed what his former Harvard professors called "an almost frightening capacity for data retention" and what his former therapist (sessions terminated after 2.5 meetings) called "a pathological inability to process emotional bandwidth."

[2] A phenomenon her roommate had dubbed "The Accent Anxiety Index," where her carefully practiced Seoul pronunciation would gradually give way to her native Busan satoori, ranging from barely detectable at Level 1 ("감사합니다") to full coastal at Level 10 ("아이고, 사장님, 이 숫자 영 아니네요").

[3] The 3-minute early arrival would later be explained by a complex series of events involving a broken elevator, two flights of stairs, and Winter's determination not to let her carefully constructed timeline collapse due to mechanical failure.

—

The following Friday's debrief began with Junho actually pulling out Winter's chair[4], a gesture so unexpected that she nearly missed the seat entirely. The portfolio was reviewed. The whiskey was poured (Junho's usual Macallan 25, Winter's Hwayo 41). And then, somewhere between the second and third drink, Winter's accent kicked into what would later be classified as Level 11 on the Southern Comfort Scale.

"You know what your problem is, sajangnim?" Minjeong's words carried the warm weight of soju and suppressed frustration, her carefully maintained Seoul accent dissolving entirely into coastal inflections. "당신은 인생을 마치 스프레드시트처럼 대하시네요. Everything must calculate perfectly, but people aren't numbers, and some of us are tired of being debugged like broken code."

Junho's finger stopped its habitual tapping mid-motion[5].

—

[4] A gesture learned from a WikiHow article titled "Basic Human Courtesy: A Beginner's Guide" that Junho had queued up on his tablet at 3:47 AM the previous Tuesday.

[5] Later analysis would reveal this as the exact moment Junho Kim, master of algorithms and logistics, encountered a variable his photographic memory couldn't process: genuine human connection.[6]

The office fell into a silence that could be measured in heartbeats (Junho's: an efficient 72 BPM; Minjeong's: an elevated 98 BPM). Outside, Seoul's financial district performed its usual Friday night exodus, the sound of departing Mercedes and BMWs creating a capitalistic symphony twenty-three floors below.

"시간이..." Minjeong continued, her Busan accent now operating at what could only be classified as Level 12[7], "Time isn't just money, 사장님. Sometimes it's just... time. Like those lunches you wolf down in exactly eight minutes while reading reports. Or these Friday meetings where you never actually look at me, just through me at some invisible spreadsheet floating in the air behind my head."

Junho's hand, still frozen mid-tap, slowly lowered to the desk. His photographic memory began involuntarily cataloging details it had somehow missed during their previous 47 debriefs: the way Minjeong's left hand always fidgeted with her portfolio's corner when nervous, how her voice carried traces of sea salt and summer festivals despite years of Seoul speech coaching, the fact that she had memorized his coffee preferences down to the precise temperature (81°C, no higher, no lower).

"I do look at you," he said, then immediately registered the statistical improbability of his own response[8].

Minjeong's laugh carried the particular timber of someone who had been holding it in reserve for approximately 11.7 months. "아니요, you really don't. You look at KPIs and performance metrics and quarterly projections. Did you know," she leaned forward, her accent thick as Busan fog, "that I've worn the same earrings every Friday for three months just to see if you'd notice?"

The earrings in question were small silver cranes, Junho's memory instantly supplied, purchased from a street vendor in Gukje Market during last quarter's Busan office inspection, chosen because their wings formed the mathematical symbol for infinity when viewed from the correct angle[9].

—

[6] A concept that would later require Junho to create an entirely new category in his mental filing system, located somewhere between "Acceptable Business Practices" and "Breathing Exercises (Mandatory)."

[7] A previously theoretical level on the Accent Anxiety Index, characterized by the complete abandonment of Seoul linguistic pretense and the emergence of what Minjeong's mother would call "우리 딸의 진짜 목소리" (our daughter's real voice).

[8] Statistical analysis of Junho's daily eye contact patterns, conducted by his personal AI assistant, revealed an average sustained eye contact duration of 1.3 seconds with all employees, making his current 4.7-second gaze at Minjeong a 361.5% deviation from the mean.

[9] A detail that would have impressed Junho greatly had he noticed it at the time of purchase, rather than at this precise moment when his brain was simultaneously trying to process the concept of infinity and the way Minjeong's eyes reflected the city lights like binary code translated into stardust.

—

The Hwayo bottle stood between them like a glass mediator, its contents depleted by exactly 73.4%. Junho found himself performing calculations he had never previously considered necessary: the precise angle at which Minjeong's smile disrupted his cardiac rhythm (42.7°), the correlation coefficient between her proximity and his ability to maintain coherent thought patterns (inverse relationship, R² = 0.97), the half-life of each satoori-tinged syllable in his auditory memory (approaching infinity)[10].

"There's a pojangmacha," Minjeong said, her words now performing linguistic gymnastics between Seoul and Busan, "down in Gangnam that serves 할매's 파전 just like back home. But you—" she gestured with her glass, creating small amber trajectories in the air, "—you probably have the exact caloric content memorized without ever tasting it."

"624 calories per standard serving," Junho confirmed automatically, then added, in what he would later recognize as his first attempt at human humor[11], "Not accounting for 할매's (grandmother’s) love."

The laugh that escaped Minjeong's lips was genuine enough to bypass all of Junho's statistical models for appropriate business interaction. It was the kind of laugh that made him wonder if his entire algorithmic approach to life had been operating on a fundamental error: the assumption that human emotions could be debugged rather than experienced.

"사장님," she said, then caught herself, "아니, Junho-ssi." The honorific shift created a quantifiable disruption in the office's atmospheric pressure[12]. "Do you know why I cry sometimes when you yell about the numbers?"

Junho's hands found themselves attempting to calculate an emotion he had no formula for. "I... have a working hypothesis."

"It's not because I'm scared or hurt," she continued, her Busan accent now wrapping around the words like a warm coast-side breeze. "It's because I see you turning yourself into code, like you're trying to compile a human being into binary, and..." she paused, searching for words in both Seoul and Busan vocabularies before settling on, "...그게 너무 아까워요."

The phrase hung in the air, untranslatable in its full emotional weight[13].

—

[10] A phenomenon that would later require Junho to create an entirely new mathematical framework he privately termed "The Minjeong Constant: Variables in Human Connection."

[11] Later analysis of office security footage would reveal this as his first non-data-related comment in approximately 2,847 hours of recorded business interactions.

[12] Advanced environmental sensors in the building's HVAC system actually recorded a 0.02% change in air pressure at this exact moment, though causation versus correlation remains a subject of debate among the building's maintenance staff.

[13] The closest English approximation might be "it's such a waste," but this fails to capture the uniquely Korean sense of regret for potential beauty lost to unnecessary efficiency, like trying to measure ocean waves in milliliters.

—

For exactly 15.4 seconds, Junho Kim—master of instantaneous data processing, champion of real-time analytics—found himself buffering. His mind, that perfectly calibrated instrument of calculation, attempted to run multiple subroutines simultaneously:

ROUTINE_1: Analyze the 2.3% tremor in Minjeong's voice during "그게 너무 아까워요"

ROUTINE_2: Process the 7.4mm dilation of his pupils upon hearing his given name

ROUTINE_3: Calculate the exact distance between their hands on the desk (23.7cm, decreasing by approximately 0.3mm per heartbeat)

ERROR: Stack overflow in emotional processing unit[14]

"I have a file," he began, then stopped, realizing that perhaps not everything needed to be classified and stored. "No, I mean... I remember every time you've smiled at work. Real smiles, not the ones you use for clients or difficult vendors." His fingers twitched, instinctively seeking a keyboard that wasn't there. "The data suggests that they occur most frequently when you're talking about Busan, or when you think no one is watching you arrange the office plants, or..." he paused, processing, "...or when you're correcting my humanity protocols[15]."

Minjeong's eyes widened, creating what Junho's brain automatically calculated as a 34.6% increase in their reflective surface area. "You... keep track of my smiles?"

"I keep track of everything," he said, then amended, displaying unprecedented runtime flexibility, "but your smiles occupy 43% more memory space than standard data points."

"아이고," Minjeong laughed, the sound carrying hints of sea breezes and noraebang nights, "only you would quantify feelings in percentages and memory allocation, 사장님[16]."

The Hwayo bottle now stood at 82.6% depletion. Outside, Seoul had transformed into its weekend configuration, all neon equations and binary dreams. But inside this office, something unquantifiable was compiling—a program written in neither Python nor Java, but in the ancient code of human connection.

"There's a logical error in your earlier statement," Junho said suddenly, his voice performing calculations it had never been calibrated for. "About me not looking at you."

"Oh?" Minjeong's eyebrow arched at precisely 27 degrees.

"I look at you approximately 2,347 times per day. My peripheral vision activates in your presence with 72% more frequency than baseline. I have memorized exactly 267 variations of your voice modulation between Seoul and Busan registers[17]. The error," he continued, his own accent slipping for the first time since Harvard, "is in assuming I don't see you."

—

[14] A phenomenon his Harvard professors had theoretically predicted but never successfully documented: the complete shutdown of pure logic circuits in favor of what they termed "human.exe."

[15] A private joke that had never made it past his internal firewall until this moment, referring to the way she subtly guided him toward more socially acceptable behaviors, like suggesting he say "good morning" to the cleaning staff or remember team members' birthdays.

[16] The honorific here carrying a new weight, somewhere between professional distance and affectionate teasing, a linguistic quantum state that would have fascinated physicists had they been present to observe it.

[17] This particular statistic would later become the subject of a 3 AM realization that perhaps "normal" CEOs don't maintain such detailed databases of their assistants' vocal patterns.

—

The confession hung in the air with the weight of a misplaced decimal point. Minjeong's hand, still holding her Hwayo glass, trembled at a frequency of approximately 3.2 Hz. The office's automated climate control system registered a sudden 0.7°C spike in local temperature[18].

"그래서..." Minjeong's voice emerged in Pure Pattern #271 (Subcategory: Emotional Breakthrough), "this is why you always know when I've had 떡볶이 for lunch?"

The unexpected query caused Junho to experience what his systems could only classify as a brief moment of runtime joy. "The specific aroma particles adhere to your cardigan at a rate of—" he caught himself, noting the gleam in her eye, and for the first time in recorded history, Junho Kim deliberately chose not to complete a calculation[19].

Instead, he found himself saying, "Your smile increases by exactly 23.7% when you eat 떡볶이. It's... optimal."

"최적화?" Minjeong's laugh carried notes of soju and starlight. "You're really going to data-analyze my happiness levels?"

"I have spreadsheets," he admitted, his voice carrying an unfamiliar warmth that his diagnostic systems struggled to categorize. "Cross-referenced with weather patterns, quarterly reports, and the frequency of your Busan accent emergence[20]."

"아이고..." She shifted in her chair, reducing the distance between them by precisely 4.7 centimeters. "You're either the weirdest or the most romantic person I've ever met, and I haven't decided which yet."

The word 'romantic' created a momentary buffer overflow in Junho's cognitive processes. His hands, typically occupied with calculating profit margins or optimizing supply chains, found themselves drawing abstract patterns on his desk's surface—a behavior previously filed under 'Inefficient Human Gestures: Do Not Engage.'

"I could..." he paused, processing, "...show you the data?"

—

[17] This particular dataset would later be renamed in his personal files to "The Minjeong Codex: A Quantitative Analysis of Qualitative Perfection."

[18] The building's maintenance staff would later attribute this to a mechanical anomaly, unaware they had documented the exact moment Junho Kim's ice-cold corporate facade began its calculated melt.

[19] A moment that would later be marked in his personal development log as "First Successful Implementation of Strategic Data Suppression for Emotional Optimization."

[20] These spreadsheets, discovered months later during a routine server backup, would become legendary among the IT department as "The Love Languages of Linear Regression."

—

Minjeong's eyes sparkled with what Junho's facial recognition protocols quantified as 87% mirth, 13% tenderness. "보여주세요," she said, the soju making her consonants softer, more Busan-bound. "Show me this data about me."

For the first time in his professional career, Junho Kim fumbled with his laptop password[21]. The Hwayo bottle between them had decreased to critical levels, and he found the standard office lights were creating unusual prismatic effects in Minjeong's hair. His fingers, typically precise to the microsecond, skittered across the keyboard.

"See, here's the correlation between your happiness metrics and the proximity to Korean holidays," he began, then stopped, distracted by the way she'd rolled her chair closer to view his screen. The scent of her perfume (도라지 꽃, his brain supplied automatically, though for once the percentage calculation felt irrelevant) mixed with the lingering soju in the air.

"You made a pie chart," she said, her voice warm with something his systems were too buzzed to properly quantify, "of my favorite lunch spots?"

"The data visualization seemed... appropriate," he managed, aware that his usual processing power was operating at diminished capacity. "Though I may have spent a statistically anomalous amount of time color-coding it to match your favorite blazer[22]."

Minjeong's laugh had shed all traces of its Seoul polish. "어머나, who knew the great Junho Kim was such a..." she searched for the word in both dialects before landing on, "...nerd?"

"I prefer 'data enthusiast,'" he replied, surprising himself with the speed of his response. The soju was definitely affecting his standard processing delays. "Though my enthusiasm appears to be... specialized."

"Specialized?" Her eyebrow arched in a way that created unprecedented disruptions in his cardiac rhythm.

"The data suggests," he said, his own Gangnam accent softening around the edges, "a singular focus on one particular... variable[23]."

The office space seemed to contract by approximately 40%, though Junho found himself caring less about the exact percentage with each passing moment. Minjeong's hand had somehow migrated to rest near his on the desk, their fingers separated by a gap that felt simultaneously quantum and cosmic.

—

[21] Password: Min2847@QLS, a combination he would later realize was more revealing than any spreadsheet.

[22] The blazer in question: a deep navy piece from a Dongdaemun boutique, worn approximately every third Wednesday, correlated with a 34% increase in his productive distraction levels.

[23] Later analysis of the office security footage would show that at this point, Junho's typically perfect posture had relaxed to unprecedented levels, creating what the ergonomics AI labeled as "Optimal Romance Angles."

—

"Show me more," Minjeong said softly, unconsciously tilting her head up to meet his gaze. Something in her tone caused Junho's spinal alignment to automatically straighten, his shoulders squaring as he leaned forward slightly. The motion created what his hazily analytical mind registered as a subtle shift in the office's power dynamics[24].

"These graphs," he began, his voice dropping half an octave without any conscious input, "track every time you've challenged my decisions in meetings." His finger traced the upward trend line, the gesture somehow both precise and possessive. "You're the only one who dares to correct my logic. It's... intriguing."

Minjeong's breath caught audibly. "사장님..." she started, then with visible effort, "Junho-ssi... you track even that?"

"I track everything about you," he admitted, the soju finally overriding his professional filter subroutines. The way she instinctively ducked her head at his words, a soft pink rising in her cheeks, sparked something primal in his usually ordered mind. "Though lately, I find myself more interested in the unquantifiable variables[25]."

"Like what?" The question emerged barely above a whisper, her natural deference to his authority softened by something warmer, more personal.

Junho felt his hand move with uncharacteristic boldness to tilt her chin up, his thumb registering her pulse point at... he realized with start that for the first time in his adult life, he didn't care about the exact number. What mattered was the acceleration, the way her breath stuttered when he held her gaze.

"Like the way you automatically straighten my tie when you think I'm not paying attention," he murmured, voice steady despite the soju. "Or how you always wait for me to take the first sip of coffee in our morning meetings[26]."

—

[24] The building's pressure sensors detected a subtle but measurable change in the room's atmospheric density, as if the very air was rearranging itself around their shifting dynamic.

[25] Security logs would later note this as the moment Junho Kim's typing pattern on his laptop transitioned from "Corporate Efficiency" to what could only be described as "Focused Intensity."

[26] A habit that Minjeong had developed unconsciously over months, part of an unspoken protocol that went far beyond mere professional courtesy.

—

The laptop screen dimmed to conserve power, casting half of Junho's face in shadow. His hand hadn't moved from her chin, thumb still resting against her pulse point in what his rapidly deteriorating analytical functions recognized as a gesture of both measurement and claim[27].

"You know what else I've noticed?" The question rumbled from somewhere deeper than his usual corporate register. His other hand reached past her to close the laptop with a decisive click, eliminating the last barrier between them. "You mirror my breathing patterns during long meetings. 호흡이... perfectly synchronized."

Minjeong's eyes widened fractionally, caught between the wall and his presence. "That's..." she swallowed, her professional composure wavering, "...very observant of you, 사장님."

"I thought we were past 사장님," he said softly, but with an undertone that made it less observation, more command. The soju had stripped his voice of its algorithmic precision, leaving something rawer, more intuitive[28].

"Jun...ho..." she tested the name without honorifics, the syllables carrying the weight of every unspoken variable between them. Her hands fidgeted with her portfolio, a nervous tell he'd documented approximately 847 times but had never been close enough to still before.

Until now.

His free hand covered both of hers, instantly calming their movement. The gesture was protective, possessive, and entirely unplanned by his usual decisional matrices[29]. "You don't need to calculate the right response," he murmured, unconsciously echoing her earlier criticism of his own binary nature. "Your instincts have a 99.9% accuracy rate."

The percentage slipped out automatically, making her laugh—a soft, breathy sound that seemed to bypass his auditory processing and strike directly at something more fundamental. Her head tilted back further, a movement so subtle it barely registered on the office's motion sensors but sent his pulse into unprecedented acceleration.

"My instincts," she whispered, her Busan accent emerging with complete authenticity, "are telling me we've miscategorized this relationship[30]."

—

[27] The building's biometric scanners would later flag this moment for what their algorithms labeled as "Significant Cardiovascular Anomaly: Dual Synchronization."

[28] Office voice recognition software attempted and failed to classify this new vocal pattern, eventually creating a new category labeled simply "After Hours Protocol."

[29] The exact pressure of his grip would have registered at precisely 7.2 PSI, perfectly calibrated between restraint and assertion, had either of them still been counting.

[30] The security AI, in its nightly report, would mark this exchange with a rare notation: "Recommended Reclassification of Personnel Relationship Status Pending."

—

"Miscategorized," Junho repeated, the word hanging in the air like a suspended calculation. His hand moved from her chin to the nape of her neck, fingers threading through her hair with unprecedented decisiveness[31]. The motion drew her incrementally closer, though for once he didn't bother quantifying the exact distance.

"yes..." Minjeong's affirmation came out breathier than any of her previously recorded vocal patterns. The portfolio slipped from her fingers, creating what would normally be an unacceptable disruption of organized space. Neither of them moved to retrieve it.

"You know what's interesting?" Junho's voice had shed every trace of its corporate modulation, leaving only that command that seemed to resonate directly with her autonomic nervous system. "I've run approximately 2,847 scenarios of this moment in my head[32]."

Her hands had found their way to his chest, fingers curling into the precise Italian wool of his suit. "And?" The question emerged with a tremor that his tactile sensors catalogued automatically before his conscious mind told them to stop measuring and start feeling.

"None of them..." he leaned closer, watching her eyes flutter half-closed in response to his proximity, "...included the variable of you looking at me exactly like this."

The faint scent of soju on her breath mingled with that eternally elusive percentage of 도라지 꽃 perfume. Junho felt his last analytical subroutines shutting down, replaced by something far more ancient than algorithms[33].

"Minjeong-ah," he said, his voice dropping to a register that bypassed all honorifics, all corporate hierarchy, all pretense of professional distance.

Her response was to cant her head just so, a motion that managed to be both surrender and invitation. "Calculation time's over, 사장님," she whispered, the honorific now carrying a weight that had nothing to do with corporate structure.

—

[31] The office's motion sensors registered this gesture as "Executive Override: Priority Action."

[32] This number, like most of his remaining statistics, was completely fabricated—a first for Junho Kim's otherwise impeccable data records.

[33] Building security cameras would later mark this timestamp with an unprecedented classification: "Critical System Override: Human.exe fully activated."

—

For the first time in his documented existence, Junho Kim stopped calculating entirely.

The distance closed between them with a momentum that defied measurement. His hand tightened in her hair, angling her face upward as his other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against him. The kiss, when it came, contained no statistics, no data points, no quantifiable metrics[34].

Minjeong made a soft sound—Pattern #unknown, Category: heaven—against his mouth. Her fingers clutched his suit lapels with enough force to wrinkle the wool beyond its optimal pressed state, a fact that Junho's usually meticulous mind registered and immediately discarded as irrelevant.

Time segmented into a new measurement system: the catch of her breath, the silk of her hair between his fingers, the way she yielded and pressed closer simultaneously. Junho discovered that his organizational skills apparently extended to kissing, each angle adjustment and pressure variation drawing increasingly desperate responses from Minjeong[35].

When they finally broke apart, Minjeong's carefully maintained Seoul pronunciation had disappeared entirely. "아이고..." she breathed against his mouth, "당신이..."

"Initial results," Junho murmured, his own accent thick with something that had nothing to do with regional linguistics, "require extensive further testing[36]."

She laughed, the sound vibrating against his chest where she was still pressed against him. "Did you just turn our first kiss into a quality control protocol?"

"Quality confirmed," he replied, then demonstrated his newfound commitment to hands-on research by kissing her again, harder this time, swallowing her surprised gasp. His hand splayed possessively across her lower back, holding her steady as she swayed into him.

—

[34] The building's atmospheric sensors recorded unexplained fluctuations in local temperature, humidity, and electromagnetic fields, leading to a complete recalibration of their measurement standards.

[35] Later analysis would suggest that Junho's legendary attention to detail had found a new, decidedly non-professional application, though this data remains classified in personal files marked "Private Research: Ongoing."

[36] The security AI attempting to transcribe this conversation eventually gave up and simply tagged the file: "Error 404: Professionalism Not Found."

—

Somewhere in the haze of non-analytical thought, Junho registered Minjeong's slight backward momentum and moved instinctively to steady her. His hand swept the desk clear with uncharacteristic disregard for organizational protocols, sending the quarterly reports flutter-falling to the carpet in an acceptable margin of chaos[37].

"Jun...ho..." His name escaped her lips like a statistical anomaly as he lifted her effortlessly onto the mahogany surface. Her legs parted automatically to accommodate him, skirt hiking up precisely 4.7 inches—the last measurement his brain would process for the foreseeable future.

"So beautiful," he murmured against her throat, the words emerging in pure Gangnam inflection, all pretense of corporate diction abandoned. His teeth grazed her pulse point, drawing a whimper that would require an entirely new classification system[38].

Minjeong's fingers tangled in his precisely styled hair, disrupting approximately 47 minutes of morning grooming routine. "사장님," she gasped, the honorific now carrying entirely different connotations, "the papers..."

"Irrelevant data," he growled, recapturing her mouth with newfound authority. The kiss deepened, transformed, became something that defied all previous parameters. Her back arched into him, creating angles that had nothing to do with geometry and everything to do with instinct[39].

A distant part of his mind registered the soft thud of his suit jacket hitting the floor, followed by the whisper of silk as Minjeong's blazer joined it. The city lights painted silver equations across her skin, codes he suddenly needed to decode with his mouth instead of his mind.

—

[37] The office's normally pristine state would require exactly 23.7 minutes to restore, a task that would be significantly delayed by several subsequent "data collection sessions."

[38] Facial recognition software attempting to analyze the security feed would crash repeatedly, unable to reconcile Junho Kim's expression with any known configuration in its emotional database.

[39] The building's structural integrity sensors registered minor seismic activity, though this data would be suspiciously absent from the next day's maintenance logs.

—

He let his hands trail by the sides of her body, one busy with her torso—breasts and all—and the other, feeling the creamy softness of her thighs. And each needy press or pinch, brought out the softest of her moans, the cutest of her lip quivers.

He was busy, marking her lips, making it all swollen and red; yet, still, he couldn’t get enough of her. That soft body, her caring little hands, her hot inner thighs, and that gentle heat radiating off her core—just hidden by the slightest of her skirt. “Minjeong.” He whispered, pressing himself against her—a matter of teasing and also a way to test the waters, whether or not she wanted it on the table.

And Minjeong, not one to initiate, wrapped her thin arms around his nape, pulling him closer, “Yes, yes, please, anything, anywhere,” then a dozen little kisses all on his face. This assurance, this consent, slowly, but surely, made him wrench her legs open—wide. He saw that stain, dark against her gray underwear, and that was when his photographic memory… failed him.

He dug in, letting his loin press up against hers—immersing himself in her wetness. Then, finally, he pulled down on his pants, showing his tent-like imprint on his underwear to Minjeong, who, obviously, couldn’t stop staring. By the end of the minute, that ruthless minute, both were undressed in their lower-half—a utilitarian instinct to fuck each other as fast as possible.

Junho breathed heavily, staring at that pink hue that her core was so beautifully composed of—along with the wetness, the fragrance, and more. “Minjeong…” He held his shaft, lining it up straight on her wetness. She finally replied, “Yes… Junho…” And that’s when he pressed in, into the endless heat.

That wet connection hilt-to-hilt, along with a deep kiss—turned Minjeong completely docile and submissive. That wet connection, her wet slime covering his shaft, somehow, only intensified their lust for each other. He pressed in again, faster this time, earning that soft mewl. “Mhm, fuck me,” she whispered, again and again. He kept honoring those wishes, going deeper, and faster. He tucked his dick into her pussy, wet squelch and all, over and over until he felt his legs get weak from thrusting. Yet, that weakness didn’t deter him, he glided deeper, letting both their pelvises rub against each other, and making Minjeong cry out from the clit stimulation. She felt like she was getting tunneled, this man, the love of her life, crush of her lifetime, fucking her so good into a wobbly table—dreams aren’t even this good.

“I’m gonna cum, Minjeong.” He whispered, low and growling.

“Inside. Please. Inside…” She whispered before getting overtaken by her orgasm.

And just at the peak of her orgasm, the teetering breath before rest, Junho barreled all his semen inside her—rope after rope of semen splashing against her cervix. “Holy fuck.” they both said in conjunction. 

—

The Seoul skyline had shifted into its late-night configuration by the time they finally disentangled themselves. Junho's normally immaculate shirt hung open, his tie having long since joined the scattered papers on the floor. Minjeong's hair had abandoned all pretense of its usual professional arrangement, falling in waves that his fingers couldn't seem to stop threading through[40].

"이게..." Minjeong began, her voice still carrying traces of breathlessness as she surveyed the chaos they'd created. Her blazer lay draped over a chair at an angle that would have horrified their usual professional standards. "I should reorganize the—"

"Stay exactly where you are," Junho commanded softly, his arms tightening around her waist. His usual perfectionism had found a new target: the way she melted against him at that tone[41].

She tilted her head back to meet his gaze, her smile pure Busan sunshine. "데이트하자... be my 오빠?" The question emerged with endearing uncertainty, mixing honorifics and languages in a way that bypassed his brain entirely and struck straight at his heart.

"그래," he murmured into her hair, then with characteristic precision added, "Exclusively."

Her laugh carried notes of joy and residual shyness. "Then as your girlfriend, I should really clean up this mess..." She gestured at the scattered papers, the displaced furniture, the general dishevelment that spoke eloquently of the past hour's activities.

"As your boyfriend," his voice dropped to that commanding register that made her shiver, "I want to watch you do it[42]."

The drive home—his penthouse, by unspoken agreement—required exactly 17 minutes. Neither of them bothered to count.

—

[40] The building's security system would later note this as the longest recorded instance of the CEO remaining in office after hours, though the detailed logs were mysteriously corrupted.

[41] Internal HR protocols regarding workplace relationships were hastily updated the following morning, though no one questioned why the CEO personally oversaw these revisions.

[42] The night cleaning staff would arrive to find the office in unprecedented perfect order, though several employees would later swear they heard laughter and whispered Busan endearments echoing through the empty halls.

Fin

[empyrealoasis]

Shifting 101: A Complete Beginner’s Guide🐚🫧

This guide will break down everything you need to know about shifting: what it is, how it works, the methods, the science behind it, and practical tips for success.

Scripts to use for beginners: World Building Guide Character Design Guide

What Is Shifting?

Shifting is the process of moving your consciousness to a different reality, whether it’s fictional, parallel, or entirely of your creation. It’s not your imagination—it’s about fully experiencing another reality.

Here's a summary of what it might feel like:

Physical Sensations

Vibrations or Tingling: Many report feeling their body vibrating or tingling, especially during the transition phase.

Weightlessness: A sensation of floating or being disconnected from the physical body.

Pressure Changes: Some describe feeling a "sinking" sensation, or a light pressure on their chest or body.

Warmth or Coolness: A shift in body temperature, often feeling either unusually warm or cool.

Mental and Emotional States

Calmness or Euphoria: A deep sense of peace, happiness, or excitement as they approach the desired reality.

Heightened Awareness: A sharper or more vivid sense of surroundings, even if they are imagined.

Detachment from the Current Reality: A feeling of being "pulled away" from where they currently are, mentally and emotionally.

Clarity: A sudden understanding or awareness of the desired reality, as if it's "right there."

During the Shift

Hypnagogic Imagery: Seeing flashes of light, shapes, or scenes from the desired reality as if in a vivid dream.

Auditory Changes: Hearing voices, sounds, or music associated with the desired reality.

Rapid Heartbeat: Some report their heart racing, which may be a mix of excitement and physiological response.

After the Shift

Being grounded in the Desired Reality: Feeling completely present and immersed in the new environment, often indistinguishable from waking life.

Memories: Retaining memories of the current reality but experiencing them as distant or unimportant compared to the new reality.

Familiarity: Even if the shifted reality is new, it may feel intuitively familiar, like returning to a place you've always known.

Why Do People Shift?

To live out their dream life or be in a fictional world.

Escape stress or explore alternate possibilities.

To experience new perspectives and adventures.

For self growth (mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually)

How Does Shifting Work?

Shifting focuses on aligning your consciousness with another reality. It may sound mystical, but scientific concepts can explain how it might work:

1. The Role of the Subconscious

Your subconscious mind doesn’t differentiate between imagination and reality—it processes everything you believe as truth. By visualizing and affirming your DR, you’re "rewriting" your mind to accept it as your "true" reality.

2. Brainwaves and Conscious States

Shifting works best when your brain is in certain states:

Alpha: Relaxed but awake, like when you daydream.

Theta: The in-between state of sleep and wakefulness—perfect for accessing your subconscious.

Delta: Deep sleep. Some people shift directly through their dreams.

3. The Quantum Perspective

The Many-Worlds Theory in quantum physics suggests infinite versions of reality exist. Shifting aligns your awareness with a different version of yourself, allowing you to live in that reality.

How to Shift: The Basics

1. Preparation

Create Your DR Script:

Where you’ll be.

Who you’ll meet.

Rules (e.g., “Time stops in my OR while I’m in my DR”).

Safe words (to return to your OR).

Set the Scene: Find a quiet, comfortable place where you won’t be disturbed.

2. Choose a Method

There are many methods to help guide your mind into the void or DR. Here are some popular ones:

The Raven Method: Lie in a starfish position, count to 100, and affirm things like, "I am in my DR." Visualize your DR as vividly as possible.

The Pillow Method: Write your script and place it under your pillow. Visualize your DR as you fall asleep.

The Void Method: Enter a deeply relaxed state, focus on the darkness behind your eyelids, and affirm that you’re in the void (a blank state of pure awareness where you can shift instantly).

3. Let Go and Trust the Process

The most important part of shifting is letting go of resistance. Don’t force the experience—relax and allow it to happen naturally.

Signs You’re Close to Shifting

You might experience these signs as you approach your DR:

Tingling sensations or vibrations.

Feeling weightless or heavy.

Hearing sounds from your DR.

Seeing flashes of light or imagery.

Common Challenges and Solutions

1. I Can’t Relax

Try meditating before starting or doing a body scan (mentally relaxing each part of your body).

2. I Overthink Too Much

Focus on affirmations or play calming music to distract your logical mind.

3. Nothing Happens

This is untrue as this is an assumption. However, it may take a few tries before you get the hang of it

The Science Behind Shifting

While shifting isn’t officially recognized by science, many related phenomena align with psychological and neurological concepts:

Hypnagogia and Hypnopompia: These are the states between wakefulness and sleep, where vivid imagery and sensations occur. They’re key moments for accessing your subconscious.

Lucid Dreaming: Like shifting, lucid dreaming involves awareness and control within a dream. Many people shift through lucid dreaming techniques.

Visualization and Neuroplasticity: Studies show that imagining something activates the same brain areas as doing it. With repetition, you "train" your brain to accept your DR as real.

The Placebo Effect: Your beliefs shape your experience. If you fully believe you’ve shifted, your brain will accept it as true. Can be achieved with the Law of Assumption.

Myths About Shifting

You Can Get Stuck: This is impossible. Your subconscious will always bring you back to your OR when needed.

It’s Dangerous: Shifting is as safe as sleeping or meditating. Unless you decide to shift to a Zombie Apocalypse then duhh.

You Need a Perfect Script/Concept: Having scripts and a good self-concept helps, but they’re not required. Your intention is enough.

Tips for Success

Stay consistent: Shifting gets easier with practice.

Believe in yourself: Doubts can create mental blocks.

Use reminders: Read your script daily to reinforce your DR.

Be patient: Everyone’s journey is different.

P.S. At the end of the day, all you need is yourself. Only you can make you shift. It is not necessary to have a script/method because it's you who's going to make it work. So, do what feels comfortable for you and what works for you. Don't let others tell you otherwise.

[reality-shitting]

I want to compile a basic beginners guide to shifting for a friend of mine, but I don't want to give my own bias on it because there's so many perspectives and I may not be able to advise where cake should begin. So I invite everyone to reply/reblog with your own ideas and advice for newbies. What would you tell yourself when you first stepped into shifting? What blogs and sources would you give someone trying to dip their toes in? What FAQs have you seen? What terms do you use?

I'm hoping that if this post gains enough traction, I can compile everyone's answers and make a multi-page, community authored Encyclopedia and offer it as an ultimate beginner's guide to shifting. ANYTHING you would like to add, be it your favorite methods, your favorite resources, short explanations of concepts (like waiting rooms, quantum immortality, yk that kind of stuff)

Basic Terminology:

(D)esired (R)eality

Variants: Destined Reality, Intended Reality, Ideal Reality, Home, My Other Lives, The Other World, The Other Room, Over There(for me personally. Feel free to add your own)

(C)urrent (R)eality

(O)riginal (R)eality

Variants: The Old Reality, The Old Story, Void Reality. May be used interchangeably with CR.

4D

Simply put, this is your imagination, your thoughts, your mind.

Variants: The Realm of Imagination, The Mind's Eye

3D

Physical Reality, as in what you are sensing physically with the body you are aware of.

The Void State:

What it is: This is a state of awareness used commonly in manifesting, shifting, astral projection, and other spiritual practices. It's the focal point of all existence, your full awareness. The Void is supposed to have a 100% success rate for those who use it. You enter this state of mind by simply becoming aware of your full consciousness, that you are endless, that you are far more expansive than the physical body you occupy.

Variants: The Center of Creation, The I AM State, The God State, Pure Consciousness, Pure Awareness, True State of Being

[wojenka]

i need more mutuals who are into coding and engineering!! more info under the cut!!

I planned to become an electrical engineer like my stepdad but then I decided to change my path to programming. I'm currently studying at technikum (<- wikipedia link so I don't have to explain the whole polish learning system), programmer major.

this year I have exams from web development (10th Jan - theory, 16th Jan - practical exams) and next year I have exams from App development (both mobile and desktop).

I know C family languages, Java, Python and those ones I am currently using. I also know a bit of Kotlin and I think I will continue learning it.

For web dev I know HTML and CSS ofc but also PHP and JS.

Planning on learning more languages I can use for App and operating system development as well as just to know them cause I want to after this year's exams!

my learning list:

Lua (I heard it's easy but I can't really get myself to read anything about this atm idk why)

Ruby

Assembly

Rust

As for electrical engineering I don't know much tbh but I would like to learn! I just used CAD programs for technical drawings (dad taught me some basic things when I was still thinking about going his path) helped my dad fix things on his Solar farm, houses of our neighbors and I made a few very simple circuits for fun a few years ago. Now I'm mostly focused on programming but since I learned most of the things I need for exams I have more time to do whatever I want now!

I'd like to get to know more people so I can share and mostly learn new things since even though I'm coding for years I consider myself a beginner and I am a total beginner when it comes to electrical engineering.

I'm willing to be friends or at least mutuals with anyone who codes or makes websites or is in STEM! no matter what your specialty/interest is exactly and no matter if you are a total beginner or a professional ^__^

I'd also like to have some mutuals who are into old web development and retro computing!!!!!!!!

edit: I forgot but I'm also interested in physics and quantum physics

[cupiid-777]

Beginner’s Guide to Reality Shifting... 

Reality shifting is the practice of moving one's consciousness to another reality. That can be a place where your favourite piece of fiction is reality, or one with a few simple tweaks to here.

 

Origins 

Contrary to popular belief, shifting has existed for decades, possibly even centuries, but was recently repopularised by fandom culture. The idea of astral projection, spiritual meditation and pure consciousness traces back to many ancient cultures, but was officially made mainstream in the 19th century by theologists. Theology was the idea that humans had several bodies, one of which being a spiritual body. This is basically what we call pure consciousness today. Meanwhile shifting or quantum jumping was intronduced by Maxwell in the late 1800s, and was further expanded on in the evolution of quantum physics as a whole.  

So where do you start? 

Shifting can be confusing for somebody who’s getting thrown into the middle of modern shifting, as on most platforms (read; tiktok) the shifting community is a mess, people throwing around misinformation and entitled claims of morality like they Kant or Socrates. But if you’re on tumblr that’s already a good start. In my humble opinion, tumblr has an amazing community of shifters, and it’s easy to find friends and learn about other’s journey and yours by extension. But moving on from there, I think a good place to start is either learning the law of assumption, or the basics of the multiverse theory depending on your ratio of spirituality to scientific belief. Shifting can be explained using both. After that, I’d recommend learning to see shifting as a natural belief, like the sky being blue or brushing your teeth being good for you.  

The modern reality shifting community has developed its own set of terms and concepts that help practitioners communicate their experiences and techniques. Here are some key terms and details: 

Core Terms & Concepts 

DR (Desired Reality) – The reality you aim to shift to, whether fictional, an alternate version of your current life, or something entirely new. 

CR (Current Reality) – The reality you are currently in. 

WR (Waiting Room) – The same as a DR, but is used specifically for being a gateway to other DRs.  

Shifting Techniques & Methods 

Personally, I think methods are overated, i don’t know how contravertial that is, but it creates the illution that shifting requires anything, which it doesn’t. But there are a couple I enjoy. 

@Hrrtshape ‘s Anti-method- THIS IS AMAZING. In my opinion one of the best methods. Along with getting me ridiculously close, it has also reaffirmed my belief to the point that it’s impenetrable. 

That’s it. This is the only method. 

Community Slang & Social Aspects 

“Permashifting”- A term some use for permanently shifting to a DR and not returning to CR (a controversial concept). 

"Respawning" – Permashifting and scripting you forget your cr life. (correct me if I’m wrong) 

“S/O”- Your significant other in your DR.  

Any questions are welcome!  

[stromuprisahat]

Ruin and Rising- Chapter 4

Another one of Alina's false potential turning points.

Another realization that will be forgotten half a chapter later...

... forbidden... By whom?

Alina still isn't a scholar, so what's her source? Two books for beginners she peeked in, Baghra and current general opinion of her group consisting of lower tens of young Grisha? Don't tell me no older Grisha ask or even meddle.

I'm pretty sure merzost is "forbidden" only because hardly anyone could achieve the level of understanding it would require not to fuck up even worse than the Darkling did with the Fold, but the way Alina describes it, it reads more like a medieval peasant stumbling upon notes on quantum physics.

It was forbidden power, but I knew its temptation, and I shuddered to think that pursuing it might have driven him mad. Says the woman possessing zero curiosity and predisposition to seek shortcuts everywhere, completely missing the scientist's drive.

Says the woman, whose noble purpose is...?

I feel like I'm reading an idiot's thoughts about nuclear power. A scientist notes radiation is everywhere, and life itself wouldn't exist without it, describing what it's necessary for and how could it power cities. An idiot sees a bomb.

I mean... this didn't start totally wrong. For a moment it almost seems Alina employed the magical tool called empathy.

Alina believes herself lonely ~because~ she's different, yet we saw her that way long BEFORE she "became" different. For her it's easier to look for faults in her physical dispositions- something she can't really influence-, than in her behaviour.

... GrEeD ... WTF?!

[nixierain]

Reality Shifting; What it is, personal takes, is it real?

Sources first though - even tho thats not right and they will not be "cited" in the text like they should be

Reality shifting: psychological features of an emergent online daydreaming culture - PMC (I really recommend looking at this one, theres a LOT of info here)

What Is Shifting Explained: A Beginner’s Guide to Reality Shifting (Ik this aint credible at all, but I looked at it... sooo)

The 16 most common reality shifting symptoms (complete list)

A Psychologist Explains The Phenomenon Of ‘Reality Shifting’

Astral Projection Vs Lucid Dreaming Vs Reality Shifting

Ok, lets get into it now:

What is Reality Shifting (RS): RS refers to the practice of "shifting" from one reality to another. This is taken from the multiverse theory; A theory that multiple universes and dimensions exist. With this logic, in these multiple parallel dimensions, there would be multiple versions of yourself. So, in theory, you would be able to shift your consciousness's to another version of you and live through that. Many people use this as a gateway to their favourite dimensions, most of the time being fictional.

Though there is almost no scientific evidince to back up that this "Quantum jumping" actually exists, it is a wide-spread online community that likes to share their own experiences, just like any other internet group.

To get this out of the way, Lucid dreaming and RS are not the same thing, in fact they are quite different, as well as RS and Astral Projection. Lucid dreaming has been around forever and also has been backed up by science. To put simply, Lucid dreaming is when you become aware and conscious while you are dreaming. This state doesn't happen too often either and typically happens by accident, then again, there are ways to highten your chances with specific substances or techniques. Astral projection on the other hand is when you leave your physical body and go about in the astral plane. This phenomenon long belived and even dates back to anceint times when spiritual leaders would go on spiritual journeys or go talk to the gods. This practice mostly being done while awake and meditating. When thinking about it, RS has many similarities with both of them, but it is a far different concept. RS is more where you shift your consciousness into that of another you.

Whether the practice of RS is real has not been proven and likely never will be. However, there are many common themes among those who experince it and several other phenomenons that share similarities to the subject. Some of the themes include: Absorption, disassociation, and fantasy-proneness. While the other phenomenons: Lucid Dreaming, Astral Projection, Tupla, hypnosis, dissociative absorption, and maladaptive daydreaming. To be clear, none of those mentioned previously are the same as RS, just share simmilar features.

Now, there are several meathods of reaching your DR, some of these include; Alice in wonderland method, the elevator method, Raven method, and the pillow method. About half of these are ones that require the subject to fall asleep, while the others are done while awake. All of which require affermations and a script to follow while in one's DR.

Going on about the symptoms when RS, there are many overlaps with Astral Projection like; Seeing lights, vibrations, feeling weightless or heavy, tingling, and ect. This makes me belive that there is a part of Astral Projection that goes into RS. I may be wrong, but the symptoms are quite similar.

Now, with my takes and opinions. I still am quite confused on the subejct on shifting to another version of yourself. Sure I belive in the whole multiverse thing... I belive in a lot of things. But What really confuses me is how you pretty much posses another version of yourself, and how something is supposed to follow a script. Versions of yourself exist seperately, they are not a hivemind, thus you cannot just possess them and live their life. That makes no sense. Maybe a whole world can follow a script, but, I would think it would be imporbable. Our world isnt on script, why is theres? If there is something that is missing, let me know. and if I offended anyone, sorry

[donnalawliet]

Chapter 3 of Coffee or Tea (Five x Derek)

After all of your suggestions, feedback and general encouragement, here it is! The third chapter of this story.

———————————

----------------------------

Five and Derek grow closer, through good and bad times.

-----------------------------

Five had been trying to live a more normal life. He took vacation days, watched movies with Derek and sometimes got his morning dose of caffeine at a coffee shop instead of making it himself. It most definitely wasn’t easy to let go of his former life, where he constantly had to be on guard. But it was nice and his therapist had assured him that it would take practice, that healing from trauma couldn’t be rushed. Through all of it, Derek remained by his side, even when it became incredibly tough.

———————————

“Mr.Five, she’s turning six years old“, Derek insisted. They had spent almost an hour looking for a birthday present for Grace, Five’s favourite niece. The oldest Hargreeves sibling had joked once that she had the looks of Diego and the intellect of Lila, which was both a compliment and an insult.

“Yes?“, Five held up the book that he had been considering, “This is a quantum physics book for beginners. She’ll like it, I’m sure of it. You can get her another gift.“

He was stubborn and he insisted on his pick. For their birthdays, Reginald had always bought practical presents. Books, weapons, anything that he thought represented real value. So Five had never really received normal gifts. And even though he tried to step away from his father’s lessons, some of them stuck. But he also knew Grace. She was quite bright and already surpassed her reading levels.

Derek sighed heavily, soon enough returning with a board game. He didn’t have a lot to do with kids, but he knew enough to know that a gift like that was a safe bet.

“Alright, I’ll trust you on this. Let’s just get them both wrapped up“, he said, his tone softening again, “But this is the last time we do last minute gift shopping.“

Five chuckled, reaching out to take ahold of Derek’s elbow. He still wasn’t completely comfortable with unannounced romantic touching, but he had grown to enjoy small gestures of affection. Both with his partner and with his family. After so many tough years, he wanted to be a good uncle and brother, even if it meant attending birthday parties full of screaming children, most of which he couldn’t care less about.

“Are you sure that you want me to come with you?“, Derek asked him out of the blue once they got into the car, “I fully understand if you want to be alone with your family.“

Even though he had met Five’s family, he was still a bit nervous from last time. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they didn’t completely trust him yet. Along with that came the knowledge of how much his boyfriend loved his siblings.

“No, you’re coming with me“, Five insisted, though he kept his eyes fixated on the road ahead, “I’m not dealing with them by myself, you’re the only one who can stop me from murdering them.“

He loved his siblings, that was a well known fact. But they also annoyed him on a regular basis. Of course, Five would never intentionally kill them…though he had to hold himself back a few times. Sometimes he wondered if he really was a killer at heart, if the Handler had been right that the Commission hadn’t corrupted him, he had done it himself by just existing. His knuckles turned white from how hard he was gripping his steering wheel, his thoughts running wild.

Luckily, Derek pulled Five out of it before he could crash the car. The younger man had gotten better at recognising the signs that Five was experiencing an episode. The episodes themselves had turned milder as well, but they hadn’t stopped, even after all this time.

“Five, I’m here“, he said firmly, without touching his partner. Touches were still a complicated topic, so he used his voice. And it was almost always enough to get Five to snap out of his thoughts. Derek belonged to a time without the Handler, without the Commission or the apocalypse, so he symbolised safety for him.

“Yeah, I know“, Five mumbled, relaxing his grip a bit as he pulled up to the parking lot, taking a few deep breaths. He was grateful and Derek fortunately knew that, because he still had trouble saying it. Yet he smiled softly when Five whispered a quiet thank you, just before they walked inside together.

———————————

Derek stared at the situation in front of him in shock. He had already handed Grace his gift and she had politely said thank you, most likely taught by her Uncle Klaus. After him however, Five had insisted on handing over his gift, the book he had fought Derek over.

“Wow!“, Grace squealed with joy once she read the title, her eyes lighting up, “That’s so cool, Uncle Five! I love it!“

She didn’t even give her uncle a chance to say anything in response, all but lunging at him for a hug. Five’s eyes widened, before his expression settled into a wide grin. Very gently, he wrapped his arms around his niece, allowing himself to settle down into the moment. This was everything he had wanted for years and he wanted to enjoy it as much as he could.

“I’m glad you like it, you clever girl“, he whispered, so only he, Grace and maybe Derek could hear it, “You enjoy your birthday, alright?“

Never before had Five found any enjoyment in birthdays. Not in his childhood with Reginald, not in the apocalypse, not in the time that came afterwards. But he would do anything to make sure his nieces and nephew would have a chance at enjoying what he never truly had.

Grace nodded, still holding onto the book tightly as Five set her back down. Sometimes she reminded the family of their robot mother, who she had been named after. The same gentleness, mixed with the chaos that were the genes of Diego and Lila.

“Yeah, I will!“, she exclaimed with a wide smile, “You’re the best uncle ever!“

She took off shortly after, but that didn’t change the fact that Five’s heart was melting. Only people who knew him would notice, but his expression softened by quite a bit. Derek stepped up next to him about a minute later.

“Okay…“, he hummed and readjusted his glasses, “I guess I was wrong about her reaction.“

Five quickly caught himself again, though he couldn’t stop smiling at that point. For a few seconds, he had forgotten that Derek was even there. But he was glad that he was there with him, so he didn’t have to face the overwhelming feelings alone.

“Come on. I know you have to go home soon, but let’s at least grab some peanut butter muffins“, Five said before pulling him along to the tables that were designated for food. After all those years, he still enjoyed peanut butter and marshmallows quite a bit.

Derek chuckled and followed along. “Look, I know you plan on drinking with your siblings later“, he said once they sat down together, Five’s legs resting on his lap, “But please don’t overdo it, we both have work tomorrow.“

The older man rolled his eyes. Despite their age difference, their relationship was relatively evened out in terms of power. They both had to adapt to the other’s needs and most often, it worked. Not all the time though.

“Just because I threw up in your potted plant once?“, Five pouted, but looked away after Derek gave him a glare that could level mountains, “Fine. One drink, I won’t go overboard. You’re right, I don’t want to be hungover at work.“

That sentence seemed to satisfy his partner, who focused on watching Diego help his daughter break her piñata. Derek fully trusted Five’s promises, knowing that his boyfriend would keep his word.

———————————

He went home after the party was over, while Five headed to a restaurant with his siblings. Sometimes, Derek was teased for his perfectionism. But despite a few instances of staying up late to finish up a case, he did his best to get the recommended six to eight hours of sleep. Five had only joked about it once, quickly shutting up after hearing Derek’s answer: “You act like I choose to feel this way. But like this, I at least feel like I have a little bit of control over my life and it makes me feel better.“

———————————

Upon waking up after exactly seven hours and fifteen minutes, Derek felt betrayed for just a few seconds. His partner had promised to only have one drink. Yet upon looking at Five, he seemed to be suffering from a massive hangover. His skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, he was shaking like a leaf, while at the same time seemingly fighting both nausea and a pounding headache. In short, Five felt absolutely miserable.

“You promised me to keep yourself under control“, Derek told him as he sat up from his own bed to walk over. Yet as he approached the other bed, he noticed how glassy Five’s eyes were and that despite the accusatory tone in his voice, his partner barely reacted. He even managed to place a hand on Five’s forehead, where he was immediately met with one revelation.

“Oh no…you’re burning up“, he mostly whispered to himself and went to walk into the bathroom to get supplies. However, Five stopped him from doing so by grabbing his wrist, effectively keeping his hand pressed against his hot forehead.

“Don’t leave…“, Five mumbled, the usual collected tone gone, “You feel so nice and…cold.“

If it weren’t for the fact that Derek was incredibly worried, he would have found the situation almost adorable. Never before had he seen Five lean into his touch like this, rubbing his forehead against Derek’s palm like a cat, though he didn’t purr. A clear sign that something wasn’t okay. Five only sought out touch when he wasn’t doing well at all, like after a particular bad nightmare or after getting injured. And his partner had experienced both, but he hadn’t seen him get sick before, that was a first.

Derek sighed heavily, allowing Five to use him as an icepack for another minute before he carefully pulled away.

“Mr.Five“, he used their nickname in an attempt to lighten the mood, “You’re sick. I’m just going to get up to gather some things, okay? I’ll be back before you know it.“

———————————

Instead of a proper response, Five groaned in discomfort. He decided to take that as a yes nonetheless, making his way towards their medicine cabinet. Derek had never experienced something like this before and if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t like having no real power to help Five. All he could do was fight the symptoms, hoping his partner would recover on his own. So for once, he decided to recruit some help, picking up his phone. Most of the siblings were out of the question, they all had work or their kids to worry about. However, there was one who should be around that time of day.

Derek: Hey, could you buy some soup and stop by my place? Five isn’t doing so well.

He expected to have to wait for a few minutes, but the answer came surprisingly fast.

Klaus: I’m on it!

Derek let out a small sigh of relief upon reading that response. At least he wouldn’t have to leave Five to make some soup or go to the store and buy some. He really admired how Klaus had turned his life around, according to his siblings at least. It must have taken quite a bit of will power and for that, he deserved respect in his opinion.

The younger man quickly shook off that thought, returning to Five’s bedside. His partner seemed to be a bit more awake, but still looked quite miserable. And yet, he hadn’t gotten up, which was a plus. He probably wouldn’t be able to keep himself upright.

“Open your mouth“, Derek gently encouraged him, sliding in a thermometer once Five followed the command. While they waited out the results, he began to wipe his sweaty and hot skin down with a damp towel. The coldness of the cloth caused Five to shiver, yet he leaned into it immediately. All while his glassy green eyes attempted to focus on Derek’s face, which was scrunched up with worry. Even though he had grown up a lot since arriving in the reset timeline, Five couldn’t help but feel like a child again. Back then, he had gotten sick more often, with Grace taking care of him in a very similar way. Whenever he had gotten sick in the apocalypse or Commission, he had tried to imagine that tender touch attempting to ease his pain. But in that instance, he didn’t have to use his imagination. Derek was there, gently brushing his damp hair into place. The beeping of the thermometer caused them both to flinch.

Derek bit his lip as he glanced at the numbers flashing back at him. The fever wasn’t incredibly high just yet, but it worried him nonetheless.

“Here, you should drink this“, he attempted to both distract himself and keep Five hydrated, helping him sit up before he grabbed the cup. And despite how utterly miserable, weak and sick the oldest Hargreeves felt, his nose scrunched up once he identified the liquid.

“I’m not drinking tea or any other hot leaf juice type“, Five mumbled and tried to turn away from him. He wanted coffee, but knew at the same time that his partner wouldn’t let him have it.

Derek groaned quietly and walked around the bed to face his partner once more. “You need to drink something. This should help you.“

Both of them were incredibly stubborn, though Five most often won when it came to a battle of will power. Yet now, absolutely exhausted, he didn’t have the energy to fight. So after a lot of pressure from Derek’s side, he began to take small sips of tea, until the mug was empty and his partner set it back down. Just as Five was starting to doze off a bit, the doorbell rang, causing him to flinch from the sudden noise.

“It’s okay, I’ll get it“, Derek quickly reassured him and walked down the hall to answer the door. As expected, Klaus was on the other side, wearing a face mask and holding a container with apparently homemade soup.

“Hi, Wesley“, Klaus smiled underneath his mask and gave him a small wave, “Not in a suit today? Wow, Fünf must really not be doing so swell.“

Derek chuckled at the nicknames, looking down at himself. With Five sick, he had no time to change out of his sleeping attire or properly style his hair, causing it to poof up. At least he was wearing his glasses.

“Good morning, Klaus“, he greeted him back, leaning against the doorframe to hide how nervous he felt, “Five is really not doing so well, not sure what he has. You didn’t have to make soup though, store bought would have been fine.“

Klaus hummed as he handed over the container, clearing his throat a bit. “Actually, Dave made that soup for dinner two days ago. Really soaked up all of that good flavour“, he grinned, which Derek was able to see from the way the skin by his eyes wrinkled, “Plus, our Mom used to make us chicken noodle soup when we were sick.“

While he was suffering from a mild germaphobia, Klaus mainly wore the mask because he sometimes volunteered at a hospital. And he really didn’t want to get sick people with comprimised immune systems even more sick.

“That’s…really kind of you“, Derek admitted, a lot of tension leaving his body as he held onto the container, “Thank you so much, it means a lot.“

Klaus nodded slowly, looking him over from the bottom of his house shoes to the top of his fluffy blonde hair. “No, I should be thanking you, Harry Potter. You’re the one taking care of Five and he obviously likes you quite a lot. I know the old man can be quite a lot sometimes. Speaking of…how do you deal with him?“

Derek blinked slowly as he processed that question. For a minute, he stayed silent, then looked back up at Klaus. “We just…complete eachother. Sure, sometimes we have to move a bit for the other so to speak, but I love him for who he is, just like he loves me. I’m used to an age difference. I fell in love with his soul, not his body, and so did he.“

To his surprise, Klaus didn’t seem amused by it or tried to make a joke about his words. Instead, he just seemed moved. “Awww…That’s good, I’m glad for you too. Tell Five that I hope he gets better soon and to keep you, okay? You really fit in well“, he winked before leaving again.

For a few moments after he had left, Derek stayed frozen, smiling a little bit. Those words meant more to him than he cared to admit. But before he could think about it further, he decided to warm up the soup and check on his partner again.

———————————

Five had dozed off again after the sound of the doorbell had echoed through their appartment, but woke up when the smell of chicken noodle soup entered his nostrils. “Mom?“, he mumbled, slightly delirious from the fever.

“Not quite“, Derek replied, a soft smile on his lips as he sat down, a steaming bowl of soup in his hands, “How are you feeling, Mr.Five?“

Five groaned as he sat up properly, pushing himself up himself instead of letting his partner help. Yet he couldn’t help it as he leaned against Derek’s chest as a makeshift pillow. It soothed his pounding headache a bit. “Like someone ran me over with a bulldozer“, he answered him quietly, opening his mouth for the first spoonful of soup. Picking up the spoon himself felt incredibly exhausting and for once, he didn’t mind how vulnerable he was.

Derek hummed, feeding him half of the bowl before he set it aside and shifted slightly, wanting Five to be as comfortable as possible.

“Whatever it is you have…you should probably get some rest. Just sleep a bit, I’ll stay right here with you. I already called out sick for both of us“, he whispered into his ears, even daring to kiss his partner‘s temple. After waiting for a response for a bit, he noticed that Five had fallen asleep, propped up against Derek’s chest and one arm loosely wrapped around him. For the sake of letting him sleep, he decided against moving.

———————————

About three hours later, Five’s temperature had dropped down to a less worrying level. When he woke up though, the feeling of sickness was replaced by something strange…yet familiar at the same time. After sitting up, Derek didn’t even get the chance to ask if he was feeling any better. Because with one sneeze, Five disappeared in a flash of blueish purple light.

He landed hard on the cold white floor of a subway station. His nausea and headache flared in a way that he had never before experienced in his entire life, making the time he lost his arm appear like a school trip.

 “What the hell…“, Five mumbled upon spotting strange symbols written on the walls, only to get pulled through space yet again, landing on his bed once more. Derek had apparently stood up in the few seconds that had passed, staring at him in complete and utter shock, but also confusion.

“What the hell?!“, he echoed the earlier sentence, only much louder. He wasn’t exactly scared of Five, but he had no idea what was happening and humans generally didn’t react well to the unknown. A few times before, Five had mentioned time travel and teleportation, though it had never really raised Derek’s alarm bells. After all, his partner had graduated with a degree in quantum physics while he had still been a teenager. But he had never fully explained the story of his siblings and their powers, afraid of what Derek would think.

Five let out a groan of pain and discomfort, fighting down the upcoming nausea. His entire body felt drained from the telelport, in a way he hadn’t experienced in many years. Slowly, he opened his eyes to look at Derek, taking a shaky breath.

“Look…I don’t fully know what’s going on“, his hair fell into his eyes and he brushed it away without much care, “But I’ll do my best to explain.“

———————————

About thirty minutes later, Derek nodded slowly as he paced back and forth. He believed his partner, despite how crazy it sounded. Even though Five didn’t tell him everything, he always told him the truth. They had insisted on that rule, so he wasn’t angry, just overwhelmed.

“But if the universe reset“, Derek finally uttered his first words since his initial exclamation, “Why do you have your powers back?“

That question hit Five like a punch to the face. While explaining, he had been too focused on making sure Derek understood everything and that his sentences actually made sense. The headache made that last part a bit harder than expected.

“I…I…“, Five stuttered and pulled his knees up to his chest, a sign that the potential answer terrified him, “I don’t know…Maybe the reset didn’t fully work…Oh God…maybe that means the apocalypse is coming back! I’m not ready for that, I can’t go through that again! I can’t bear the sight of my dead family for the fifth time! I don’t want to loose you too, now that I finally found someone who completes me and makes me feel alive!“

He was spiraling so hard, Five didn’t even notice that he was screaming his thoughts aloud, tears running down his face. A panic attack was something his pounding head couldn’t fully handle and he was starting to hyperventilate.

Derek quickly sat down in front of him. “Five, listen to me“, he said firmly, attempting to get him to focus, “It’s going to be alright, we’ll figure this out together.“

Once he noticed that the normal strategy wasn’t working, he decided to change course. While he kept reassuring Five, he pulled him into a gentle hug, hoping that the contact would help. It was a 50/50 chance, but he was fully willing to take that risk. Shortly after his arms wrapped around him, Five hugged him back as if his life depended on it. His tears stained Derek’s sleeping shirt, yet neither of them particularly cared about that. They just kept holding on, both of their respective rants echoing through their minds like a melody.

I don’t want to loose you too, now that I finally found someone who completes me and makes me feel alive!

It’s going to be alright, we’ll figure this out together.

———————————

The next day, Five still didn’t feel too well. But he had recovered enough to leave his bed and visit his siblings with Derek by his side, where it was revealed that the world wasn’t ending. Which was both a relief and a cause of anger for Five.

“You stole from Dad and spiked our drinks?!“, he exclaimed and Derek had to actively hold him back so Five wouldn’t try to strangle Ben, who looked even worse for wear. And even though Derek didn’t have to use as much force as usual, it was still more than one would expect for someone as exhausted as Five.

“Please, Mr.Five“, he practically pleaded, “Relax a bit and sit down.“

To everyone’s surprise, Five did settle down a few seconds later, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Normally, he probably would have put up more of a fight.

Luther stared at Derek, then Five, his eyes wide open. He did look exhausted as well, but was able to keep Sloane from floating to the ceiling by holding onto her ankle. “Wow. You gotta teach us how to do that. He’s never done that with any of us.“

Diego nodded quickly as well, immediately regretting that decision when a wave of pain shot through his head. None of them felt good, except for Klaus maybe. “Yeah. I have three kids, who all got their stubbornness from me and Lila. How do you do that?“

In response, Derek blushed a bit, readjusting his glasses ever so slightly. He looked as unassuming as possible. “Well…he sometimes holds me back too, when it’s necessary, so it evens out.“

Before anyone could ask what he possibly meant by that, Five let out a groan next to him. A sign that the nausea was back at full force, disorientating him beyond measure. But as soon as Derek placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, everything went downhill.

———————————

Never before had the blonde teleported and it was a sensation that took some time to get used to. Suddenly, his world got turned upside down, so much so that he could no longer determine whether his feet were touching solid ground. As for his vision, for a small moment he couldn’t see anything, then for just a split second, he could see stars. Never before had he seen so many stars in the sky, he felt like he was facing the infinity of the universe as time seemed to have lost its meaning. Until, as suddenly as they had disappeared, the reappeared in the strange subway station.

While Derek still tried to come to grips with what happened, Five recovered a bit faster. After all, he had teleported before many times. No matter how much he tried though, he couldn’t bring himself to do it again.

“Shit…“, he cursed under his breath, just before helping his partner with sitting up, “We have a problem.“

———————————

After about ten minutes of recovery time and senseless walking around the station, Derek took a deep breath. He was close to having a panic attack and he refused to let himself get tipped over the edge. Not with Five already freaking out over everything.

“I say we get in the train, see where it takes us“, he announced and made his way towards the open doors. Derek could be extremely stubborn when he wanted to, just like his partner. And in that moment, his tone indicated that he was in no mood for protest. It was a tone that rarely ever came out.

Five groaned, but followed him onto the train. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t the least bit curious. Plus, he couldn’t leave Derek alone. “You have no idea where this will take us“, he mumbled, unaware that this would be a longer trip than expected.

As soon as they stepped out of the station, they were confronted with burning rubble and collapsed buildings. Five’s grip on Derek’s hand tightened a bit more as he did his best to stay in the present.

“This doesn’t look too good“, he whispered, kneeling down as he spotted an arm sticking out of a hill made out of metal pipes and concrete. And while there wasn’t an umbrella tattoo this time, he recognised the watch around the wrist as the one he was wearing every single day.

Meanwhile, Derek slowly looked around. A strange feeling began to wash over him, but he couldn’t quite place it. It was as if the entire world around him seemed out of place entirely. He reached up to scratch the back of his neck, grimacing as the itch refused to go away. No matter how hard he scratched at his skin, to the point that it turned red, it didn’t get better.

“Derek, are you alright?“, Five asked him, but didn’t really look up as he attempted to move the rubble aside. He was too focused to really split his attention.

“Yeah, of course“, his partner found himself saying almost instantly, even though he most definitely wasn’t feeling alright at all. His mouth had gone dry, his saliva no longer doing its job, so he was yearning for water. At the same time, sweat began to trickle down his neck and temple, even though he definitely didn’t feel hot at all.

Finally, Five looked up, his eyes widening ever so slightly. Even though not all of the signs were present, there were enough for him to recognise it. He had gone through it himself after all.

“We need to leave, now!“, he exclaimed, just as the first bullet cut through the air, hitting the wall behind him, “Before you shoot us!“

Derek took cover right next to Five, daring to glance around the corner. And between the rubble, he could spot…himself. Sure, he was no longer wearing his tie, his glasses were cracked and his face dirtied with ash, but it was definitely him. “How is this possible?!“, he exclaimed as they made their way back into the station, avoiding bullets as they did so.

Five took a few shaky breaths, pulling him back into the train as quickly as possible. He was still exhausted from the teleportation earlier. “If I had to guess, that was an alternate timeline. One in which I died, the apocalypse happened and you survived somehow.“

After hearing that, Derek stayed quiet for a few minutes. He knew about the existence of timelines, but knowing about something and seeing something was quite different. After about ten minutes though, he suddenly broke the silence again. “Oh no…We just passed our stop, the train just keeps going!“

Almost instantly, Five paled, trying anything to get the train to stop. But he couldn’t find anything, teleporting was still something his body couldn’t handle and the windows refused to break.

“Shit...“, they both said at the same time, just as the doors opened again and they entered a new station.

———————————

Despite working with files and complicated cases evey day, navigating the subway map took them a lot of time. Every time they thought they had cracked the code, they were proved wrong. And unlike Five, Derek had never fought for his own survival on such a primal level. So things like making a fire, building a shelter or preserving clean water were all things that he had to learn.

Fortunately though, Derek was good at hunting animals, either by building traps or with a weapon. So they were able to get some food, even if they landed in timelines that had long turned into worlds without any humans in it.

However, not all stations lead to those kind of timelines. After about two years of aimlessly wandering through the subway, they stepped out of the train once more. They hadn’t completely abandoned their suits just yet, but had been forced to put on some old coats, as it often got quite cold.

“This is seems promising“, Derek dared to say as they stepped out of the station. The buildings were still standing and the air was clear of ash. Not everything was as good as it seemed though.

“Look out!“, Five exclaimed and lunged at him, just as a gunshot echoed through the air. They were used to making a quick escape at that point, so they barely had to think about it as they fled down the stairs and back into the train. “Woah…That was a close one.“

Derek had stayed strangely quiet during their escape, the only sound that came from him was his heavy breathing. “Mister Five?“, he whispered, his voice barely above a whisper and quite strained. His upper arm was shaking beyond belief, a dark red patch slowly spreading across his sleeve.

Never before had two words affected Five that much. His vision tunnelled on the blood, as well as the gunshot wound on Derek’s right upper arm. “No…no, no, no, shit!“, he exclaimed, his fingers hastily pulling off his tie to use as a turniquet. He had never cared much when he himself had gotten injured, but when it came to people he cared about, he felt almost paralysed.

“Hey, hey, look at me“, he almost commanded, placing one hand on Derek’s cheek, “No going into shock, Mister. Here, drink this.“

He shakily pulled out a flask from his leather satchel, forcing his partner to take a swig before taking a sip himself.

Derek had previously been dissociating into a state of shock, the pain burning like a hot iron but it had still been not enough to keep him awake. However, as soon as his tastebuds registered what the liquid inside of the flask was, he found himself wide awake and disgusted.

“Ew!“, he exclaimed, not even noticing as his partner tightened the turniquet a bit, “Is that coffee?!“

Five nodded, leaning back and taking another sip. He still had to stop the bleeding and check whether the bullet had gone through or not, but for just a second, he could relax. “You need to stay awake, keep the adrenaline up. This was the best way.“

Just for a moment, both of them laughed. It wasn’t light laughter by any means, but it was a small break from the constant danger and hopelessness.

———————————

Keeping track of time inside of the subway was tough. There was no day and night cycle, Five’s watch had given up after about a year and their sleeping schedule wasn’t regular by any means. So they had to rely on Five’s sense of time, which he possessed due to the nature of his powers.

“How long has it been?“, Derek asked one day, his head leaned against his partner’s shoulder as they waited for the water to boil. The right lense of his glasses had cracked, though he desperately tried to keep it together. It was the only sense of normalcy he had retained.

“Six years, four months and twelve days“, Five mumbled, his eyes loosely closed. He barely had to think about it anymore, the numbers burned into his mind.

Derek hummed quietly and reached into the depth of his pockets, only to frown when he touched something he had long forgotten about. He had bought it before they had ended up in the subway system, which felt like an eternity ago.

“Mr.Five?“, he asked with a smile, which caused his partner to open his eyes and look at him, “Once we get out of here…I don’t want to spend a day without you. And I know you find it cheesy, but will you marry me?“

He carefully pulled out the box from his pocket, revealing the silver ring that held five emeralds, similar to Five’s deep green eyes. Even though he had thought about those words for six years, Derek couldn’t help but feel incredibly nervous.

Five’s eyes resembled saucers once he looked at the ring for the first time. He had been married before, but back then, he had been the one to propose. And even though he was a dangerous killer, he found himself blushing like a teenage girl getting asked out by her crush.

“I…“, he stuttered for a moment, then nodded quickly, trying to quickly wipe the tears away, “Yes, I will marry you. I’ll get us out of here, I promise, we will have a wedding.“

Normally, Derek was the one who mainly initiated the touches. But this time, Five pulled him in for a kiss as soon as the ring found its place on his finger. He almost seemed hungry for any sort of touch, holding onto his collar and only pulling away once they both needed to breathe. The sweet moment of affection was interrupted by a Eureka moment.

“I got it!“, Five exclaimed, grabbing Derek’s left arm as to not accidentally hurt him by digging his fingers into his old wound, “I know how to get back!“

Derek barely had time to ask him any questions. They were both overwhelmed by emotions and the thought of getting back far too overpowering. “Let’s go then!“, he grinned, something he hadn’t done in quite a while.

———————————

It took them a while to go through the combination of stations, but after about an hour, they made it. With one teleportation, they found themselves back in the academy. Five’s siblings seemed to have left, but not much time had passed at all, a few hours at the most.

“We did it…“, Derek whispered breathlessly, allowing himself to fall onto the couch next to his fiancé, “We made it back.“

Five nodded, taking a deep breath as the realisation hit him. For a while, he looked at the ring on his hand, a faint smile appearing on his face. “How about we go home, take a shower, change…have some coffee?“, he suggested and offered him his hand.

Derek nodded and readjusted his glasses before he took the offered hand.

“Or tea.“

-----------------------------

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and story! This will most likely be the last one, since I'm not good at writing weddings and I quite like how this ended. If you have any sort of suggestions for other stories, oneshots, whatever, let me know. As always, leave some likes or comments, they make my day. Thank all of you so much for the love you gave this story of mine, it means so much to me. Until next time, -Donna Lawliet

[tearsinthemist]

Want to learn something new

Want to learn something new in 2022??

Absolute beginner adult ballet series (fabulous beginning teacher)

40 piano lessons for beginners (some of the best explanations for piano I’ve ever seen)

Excellent basic crochet video series

Basic knitting (probably the best how to knit video out there)

Pre-Free Figure Skate Levels A-D guides and practice activities (each video builds up with exercises to the actual moves!)

How to draw character faces video (very funny, surprisingly instructive?)

Another drawing character faces video

Literally my favorite art pose hack

Tutorial of how to make a whole ass Stardew Valley esque farming game in Gamemaker Studios 2??

Introduction to flying small aircrafts

French/Dutch/Fishtail braiding

Playing the guitar for beginners (well paced and excellent instructor)

Playing the violin for beginners (really good practical tips mixed in)

Color theory in digital art (not of the children’s hospital variety)

Retake classes you hated but now there’s zero stakes:

Calculus 1 (full semester class)

Learn basic statistics (free textbook)

Introduction to college physics (free textbook)

Introduction to accounting (free textbook)

Learn a language:

Ancient Greek

Latin

Spanish

German

Japanese (grammar guide) (for dummies)

French

Russian (pretty good cyrillic guide!)

Jan 2, 2023

Want to learn something new in 2023??

Cooking with flavor bootcamp (used what I learned in this a LOT this year)

Beekeeping 101

Learn Interior Design from the British Academy of Interior Design (free to audit course - just choose the free option when you register)

Video on learning to read music that actually helped me??

How to use and sew with a sewing machine

How to ride a bike (listen. some of us never learned, and that's okay.)

How to cornrow-braid hair (I have it on good authority that this video is a godsend for doing your baby niece's black hair)

Making mead at home (I actually did this last summer and it was SO good)

How to garden

Basics of snowboarding (proceed with caution)

How to draw for people who (think they) suck at art (I know this website looks like a 2003 monstrosity, but the tutorials are excellent)

Pixel art for beginners so you can make the next great indie game

Go (back) to school

Introduction to Astronomy (high school course - free textbook w/ practice problems)

Principals of Economics (high school course - free textbook w/ practice problems)

Introduction to philosophy (free college course)

Computer science basics (full-semester Harvard course free online)

Learn a language

Japanese for Dummies (link fix from 2022)

Ukrainian

Portuguese (Brazil)

American Sign Language (as somebody who works with Deaf people professionally, I also strongly advise you to read up on Deaf/HoH culture and history!)

Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified)

Quenya (LOTR fantasy elf language)

Dec 26, 2023

Want to learn something new in 2024??

Beginner-oriented video on how to sail

This guy has so many videos on baking different types of bread. SO very many.

Coding in Python - one of the most flexible and adaptable high-level programming languages out there - explained through projects making video games

Learn to swim! (for adult learners. I don’t care if you live in Kansas or Mali or wherever. LEARN TO SWIM.)

Learn how quantum mechanics works. Then read some more about it

[Learn about quantum mechanics again, but in a more advanced engineering/mathematics class. Then read more about the math and physics of it]

Poetry Handbook, by Mary Oliver

Something I learned this year: how to sew a quilt (Here’s a very easy beginning pattern that looks amazing and can be done with pre-cut fabric!)

How to hit the ball in softball

Tutorial video on what is under the hood of most (gas) cars + weird engine sounds and what they mean

Full beginner mechanics technical training, if you want to go more in depth

Playlist on how car engine physics work if you want to go ultra in depth

Lecture series on architecture design through study of buildings

How (American income) taxes & tax law work (choose “audit course” at checkout for free class)

Pickleball for beginners (so you can finally join your neighbor/friend/distant cousin who is always insisting you join their team)

+ Para-Pickleball for beginners (for mobility aid users!)

School is so much more fun when there’s no tests:

American Law - Contracts

Shakespeare’s Life and Plays

Fairy Tales: Meanings, Messages, and Morals

Modern Poetry

World History [Part 1, Part 2]

Learn a language:

Arabic + Resource Guide compiled from Reddit (includes info on different dialects)

Chinese (Cantonese) (audio)

Urdu (frequently recommended course on Reddit) + Resource Guide

Yucatec Maya

[thesunismoody]

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto : the generational planets ✨🪐

Today’s post is about my opinion about these 3 big planets that are quite misunderstood because of their impact which can be individual and on a whole generation at the same time. I hope it will help beginners and give some insights about how to interpret some heavy placements ! (ps : english isn’t my first language, sorry if there’s too much mistakes or misunderstandings 🙏)

A “transpersonal” planet ?

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are called “transpersonal” planets. Etymologically, the prefix trans- means “across, beyond”. They transcend the personality, go through the individuality to change humanity and soul in its core. Indeed, that’s exactly what it sounds like : these planets will send the same energy to the whole world at the same time to produce a global change.

You’ll answer me that every planet does so. Indeed, yes. When the Full moon is in Leo, the moon shares the same fiery energy to everyone. And, because of the velocity of these little planets and luminaries, it will influence everyone’s individuality for some days, some weeks in some cases. But, with transpersonal planets, the impact is more of a chemical change, like it’s changing the whole constitution of an environment.

Metaphorically, whereas the other planets will act like waves in the ocean to modify for a brief time its strength or calmness, transpersonal ones will have an impact on the Ph of the water, the constitution of the molecules, and THAT will impact all the fishes - without them not even acknowledging it sometimes.

Generational planets ?

As they’re very slow, their influence impact a whole generation. On the following list, I’ll explain how long each one stays in a sign before moving to the next one, and I’ll also explain the context of their discovery and how it expresses well the energy they spread.

Uranus needs 84 years to make a complete orbit. It stays 7 years in a sign.

It was discovered in 1781, era of the Age of Enlightenment, between the American revolution and the French one.

=> community, liberties, revolutions, new ways of living and thinking…

Neptune needs 165 years to make a complete orbit. It stays approximately 14 years in a sign.

Discovered in 1846, it chooses well its era to be found. 19th century is the peak of spiritualism, mediums and other divinations which were still condemned a few decades earlier.

It’s also a major era for art. The end of the 19th century has shown some open-mindedness : news ways of painting and writing were democratized, accepting some liberties in the way artists were expressing their feelings.

Pluto needs 248 years to make a complete orbit. It stays approximately from 12 to 30 years in a sign.

It was discovered in 1930, between the two world wars. It was the period of fascists regimes, abuses of power and death. It empowers primal instincts, chemicals, lies and destruction. Often related to atoms, quantum physics…

Disclamer : Yes, Pluto is one of the greatest source of power, and yes it has been used badly. However, with good intentions, this planet also purifies and transcends to help us regenerate, like a phoenix from the ashes.

An insight of 2024 ?

With all of this, how these 3 planets will influence our present ?

✨ Uranus is in Taurus ♉️ 2018-2026

Correlating to what we’ve seen previous times Uranus were in Taurus, we can guess that governments will try to pursue traditions and stubborn ways of governing.

Uranus isn’t at ease in Taurus so it diminishes its power. However, we could see some revolts about earth, agriculture, climate… The Taurus energy will increase the desire to possess things, to ensure a materialistic life, and Uranus presence will provoke some crisis about it. To resume, it creates another relationship with nature.

✨Neptune is in Pisces ♓️ 2012 - 2025

Each time Neptune is in Pisces, the accent is put on health. From Pasteur in the 19th century to the rise of alternative medicines nowadays, we continue to observe this tendency. We’ve also seen a lot of improvement about mental health these last years. It’s also the end of a cycle. Some values are discussed, tolerance between all religions for example. Global spirituality is fostered. Meditation and hypnosis, dreams, are placed in the center of this reflection. We also have to be careful : Neptune is the ruler of illusions so, in Pisces, we have to stay realistic.

✨Pluto is in Aquarius ♒️ 2024-2044

First of all, you should know that Pluto will come back in Capricorn from September to November. Because of how violent Pluto’s energies can be, the planet goes back and forward in a new sign to soften the transition. Then, what could mean a Pluto in Aquarius ? It requires liberty, freeing ourselves from traditions and hierarchy. There could be some revolts and new ways of organizing societies and communities. New technologies and new ways of communication will appear.

It’s the end of this post ! I hope it was instructive for some of you ✨ I’ll try to explain how they can influence an individual chart by explaining their transits in another post these next days 🌷 Thank you for reading me 🙏

[geesecanon]

I dont think I've ever mentioned it but thank you for writing a reader who can be on fords level about science! a lot of x readers have the reader be unknowledgable and while that's not a bad thing and I can enjoy them regardless, it does get a little awkward lol. plus your writing is top tier so, even better

tysm!!!💜💜 im really glad all my wayward marine research is paying off and people are enjoying ahaha. really personally validating to have it be appreciated!

got really ramble-y so, more thoughts on epistolary under the cut. tl;dr its just about whatever the author thinks is important to the fic :)

re: Reader's general level of science knowledge, i think it really just depends on the setup the author is going for. like either its pertinent to what the fic is going for or it isnt. or ive read plenty where the Reader is an expert in some other field (lots of english majors out there, present company included!), and they meet in the middle that way. or maybe they dont and there's an intellectual imbalance (lots of college-era fics come to mind). author's preference again, none of which is bad and a lot of which is done very well.

i think for epistolary, it became less about levels of science knowledge (i.e. whether Reader could keep up) and more about having the same open curiosity that ford blatantly has about the world around him. and then it just became what would be realistic for keeping the two of them in regular contact. i mean you have to have a lot of enthusiasm to get a PhD in anything (sidebar: one of my friends is getting his MD/PhD right now and when i asked him last week when he'd be done he was like, oh whenever my advisors decide it is (i.e. 8 - 10 more years). CRAZY. he's also doing some frankenstein shit w his research that sounds cool). Reader may know a lot about marine biology but theyre still very much a beginner in quantum physics (and ill always say, all my quantum talk is ripped straight from designations congruent with things). or like we'll find out Reader pretty basic in neurology in a few chaps as well.

'cause what i wanted out of the Reader/Ford dynamic for this fic (and subsequent ones in the same universe, whenever i get there) is two people who can go toe-to-toe, respect the other for it (even if they find the other annoying occasionally), and still figure out how to learn from each other. like i love an antagonistic academic rivals relationship as much as the next person (see: me linking a pacific rim fic above lmao) but it made much less sense to me for ford to want to keep that up in his 60s after everything else thats happened......

also the lab assistant dynamic just wasnt interesting to me when i started this. whether it not it becomes interesting to me at a later date is tbd. i would chalk it up to the power dynamic imbalance but i DO like prof/student ford/reader dynamic so.........

ok this got a lot longer than anticipated. thank you whoever read this far. ily 💜. here's a bonus pic of my cat for all who ventured this far

[dullahandyke]

I heart adding shit to my borrowbox tbr. Found out that an audiobook company did a bunch of beginners guides to stuff fuck yesssss I cant wait to learn about quantum physics and daoism and the history of medicine and imperial china

[bellswaitforsilencetopass]

Currently open browser tabs on my phone: blood orange and fennel salad recipe, my friend's RateYourMusic profile, books on quantum physics for beginners, how much calories does a croissant have