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video | un: s.reid

Hi. I'm... Dr. Spencer Reid. At home, I work with the FBI as a behavioral analyst, or profiler. I'm trying to figure out what to... do with myself here.

[ Reid is a thin, young-looking man with too-wide eyes and nearly shoulder-length unkempt hair. That combined with the cardigan, tie, and lightly patterned button-up makes him look extremely dated. It's not hard to believe him as a federal employee by clothes alone, although his age is constantly remarked upon.

He doesn't sound uncertain about addressing the wider audience of the network-- although he is, and especially about using technology this way-- but he does sound like he's choosing his words with care, enunciating clearly and with even, unhurried pacing. ]

If there's anyone that currently works for the local police, I'd like to speak with you regarding whether you think there's a use for my skills in that environment. I have done field work, but I wouldn't say it's my strong suit. Otherwise I'm considering taking up teaching at the university. I've been a TA for undergraduate classes before, although I think I'm better suited to leading graduate-level seminars. If anyone currently takes classes there, it would be helpful to hear about your experiences.

... I also noticed they're looking for librarians at the public library. Uh. I don't think that alone would keep me... sufficiently occupied, but. I could do it.

I'd like to optimize my time here by putting my skills wherever they're most needed. So I'm open to other suggestions. And-- looking for a physical therapist. And possibly an orthopedist. Thank you.

[ It cuts off abruptly. Reid can do public speaking, but it's far from his favorite past time. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yes, I um, happened to be shot while protecting a well-respected trauma surgeon. That helps with the response time.

[ He sounds factual and not remotely bitter about it. Getting Reid to accept help can be a challenge, but it's not like he wants to use a cane for another two months... ]

I could help with that. The pain, I mean.

( she hadn't exactly planned on revealing herself quite this fast, but caroline's also not somebody to let someone hurt if she can help it. and she can help it, if he'll take the help. )

You're in the Welcome District, right? The starter apartments? I'm in Beta Building, I could come find you.

Whoa, I uh, thank you, but I think I need a little more information first.

[ At least Reid has a lot of great excuses for being a career paranoid-- he literally studies serial killers, and has been tortured by one before. Which is one big reason he doesn't take narcotic medication anymore. He doesn't think he needs to treat anyone mistrustfully, but he's an evidence-based sort of person who, well, needs some evidence first. ]

Maybe we can start with your name?

It's Caroline. ( why does this feel like a job interview? ) Caroline Forbes, I'm from... Mystic Falls, Virginia, I'm not planning on murdering you, and I...

( i what? she really doesn't want to fill in the blanks on the network where anyone can presumably be watching along. )

I can explain a little better in person, if that's okay?

[ Well. He is a profiler. When he's scrutinizing someone's motives, it's a little focused-- Reid isn't the most graceful.

He actually spends a whole moment thinking it over before saying, ] Sure. I don't think you're planning on hurting me, [ he actually doesn't, and he sounds apologetic, ] but where I'm from we don't have anything... fantastical. And I'd rather know what I'm agreeing to before I agree.

[ Lightly, ] In case telling you my middle name sells you my soul, or something.

( a small huff of laughter. 'fantastical' is sure one way to put it. between witches and werewolves and vampires and a town that's somehow hellbent on both destroying and glorifying the supernatural, caroline has to admit that it's definitely not her previous understanding of 'normal'. )

I'm not a demon. I promise I won't, like, do anything super weird if you're not okay with it. ( the lobby of the building is a little too out in the open, but there's always the gardens behind them. those are usually a bit quieter, in her short experience. ) I'm going to go find a bench outside, if you want to meet me there?

[ His word choice was deliberate, that's for sure. He doesn't want to be potentially offensive and declare it impossible, since clearly it is possible in certain planes of existence, but it is... incredible, in the most literal definition: difficult to be believed. ]

We can do that. [ He smiles a little. ] It's a kind offer, Caroline. Demon or not. I'll be there in a few minutes.

[ With no further fanfare, Spencer shuts off the feed-- he's used to abrupt calls due to work-- and gathers his things to go. Gun holstered, safety on; keys, wallet, sobriety chip in their usual places; messenger bag with notebook, library books, and a city map. Cane.

Sure enough, he takes the elevator down Beta building and strides out with his cane, making good time despite the literal handicap. Reid is clearly someone who does not let injuries slow him down, and is good at making his pain invisible. Thanks to meeting her on video, he spots her before long, and hobbles over, free hand raising to give a finger-waggling wave in greeting. ]

( she's impressed by his speed. she hasn't known many people — supernatural or not — who can manage to swallow down their pain and move quite that quickly, so for someone admittedly very human to do so is definitely worth noticing.

caroline's greeting in return is cheerful, an overtly friendly wave from the wrist, fingers splayed out to blur in the wind as she clears a spot on the bench beside her with her free hand. )

Hey! Spencer, right?

( if it weren't for the offer luring him down, this might just seem pretty normal. )

[ He smiles in response, more subdued than she is but still sincere.

Spencer takes his seat with some amount of care, propping his cane up against the bench seat next to him. ] Yes. Thank you for meeting me. I can appreciate not wanting to make certain things public knowledge.

[ He's an incredibly private person. ]

Yeaaaaah.

( the vowel is drawn out almost comically as her hands fall into her lap, if only just for a moment before they're busy again, tugging on a lock of hair that's fallen over her shoulder. her hands, much like caroline's rapidfire verbal patterns, are rarely still. )

It's kind of more the thing where — ( and it's here that she pauses, looking a fair bit sheepish now ) — well. People kind of freak out? And I'm trying to avoid the whole 'everyone's terrified of me' thing here.

( see, also: not getting kidnapped by anti-vampire douchebags again. that'd be ideal. )

So. I can definitely heal you, it won't hurt, but it'll probably taste... um, kind of gross. Or maybe not, I don't know. I guess some people really like the taste but I didn't. Well, I do now, but...

( she's totally rambling. )

[ Reid blinks several times before speaking, piecing together her words and processing them. This is a rare glimpse of Reid having to think before he speaks. ]

Whatever you have to say, I promise I won't freak out. Or be terrified. Ask you a million questions, maybe. [ Indeed, he sounds calm, intrigued, and completely unperturbed by the whole idea. As a profiler, he'd already gone through threat-assessment and deemed her low risk, or he'd never have come out here. Whoever she is past that, Reid isn't going to judge.

Be intensely academically curious-- that is a strong possibility. ]

Can you explain what you mean when you refer to taste?

( she's got a so-so experience when it comes to promises. sometimes, people just tell you what they think you want to hear. but there's something about the quiet intensity of the man sitting next to her that makes her think maybe, just maybe, he means what he says. )

Iron, mostly. ( which makes sense, given the high iron content in it. ) It tastes like iron, and a little bit salty, kind of like if you mixed a bag of potato chips with dirty pennies.

( why does that sound so horrible? probably because people aren't really set up to want to enjoy the taste of blood. there's a good reason why society as a whole finds vampirism so distasteful. )

I'm a vampire. I guess I should have started with that.

[ He's used to having to build rapport with people a lot more difficult to build rapport with than her. Mostly Reid manages it by genuinely feeling for people, so there's nothing for him to fake.

At this confession, his eyebrows shoot up, and he examines her more closely in suppressed fascination. ] A vampire? Then you're talking about blood? I'm familiar with vampiricism as a delusion, but I assume you're speaking literally. Which of the mythological characteristics do you have?

( mythological characteristics. of course he'd put it that way. there's a soft laugh of amusement huffed under her breath as caroline shakes her head, but she doesn't resist the answer. he deserves to get answers, if he's going to agree to keep her secret. )

I guess the obvious one is the whole ( bad translyvania accent ) 'I vant to drink your blood' thing. But it's not like I go around killing people. We have blood bags, mostly. ( though, to be fair: ) Some vampires do — we call them rippers — but... not me. I don't do that.

( that's probably the most important part of the conversation. she'll avoid displaying her fangs for now, but they'll come out later should he agree to what she's offering. )

Um... we can't go out in the sun, unless we have a lapus lazuli ring. ( she holds up her hand, where a royal blue stone rests on her index finger. if she could tan, her hand would have a hell of a tan line. it never comes off. ) My friend Bonnie made it for me. She's a witch — and not like, a bitchy witch, she's literally a witch. Coven and everything.

( he doesn't seem interested in stopping her, so caroline adds on: ) Garlic's fine, crosses are tacky but don't make me ill or anything, fire burns... am I forgetting anything? Oh, and I don't turn into a bat or anything. That'd be weird.

[ Indeed, he listens intently without interrupting, with wide, curious eyes-- and as he'd promised, no fear or accusations. ]

That's fascinating, [ he says frankly. Reid instantly thinks of thirteen follow-up questions and keeps them tucked away for now. Stay focused, Spencer. ] I would guess from the amount of neologisms in your speech that you're either newly, ah, turned, or very good at keeping pace with cultural advancements. But it sounds more like the former. [ That's his subtle way of estimating how old she is.

Without pause, he continues, gesticulating as he goes, ] The focus on lapis lazuli for protection is completely non-standard, mythologically speaking. It could be due to its historical importance in Egypt as a talisman that would protect the deceased from evil spirits. The word lazuli also comes from an Arabic word meaning sky or heaven. I'd have to know about how your plane's version of supernatural magic operates to make a better estimation.

[ That's Reid for you: give him a personal reveal and he'll instantly try to explain its contextual significance. ]

Edited 2018-01-28 02:19 (UTC)

Oh, yeah — it's been, um. Less than a year? ( timelines are kind of fuzzy when you can't die, but that sounds about right. ) I got in a car accident, and my friend's boyfriend's brother — he's a vampire, and he healed me. Well, and then another, totally evil, vampire came and suffocated me to turn me so she could sell me to her douchebag friend Klaus —

( she's rambling again. another sheepish smile, and caroline coughs to clear her throat. )

Vampire blood can heal almost any human injury, if it's drunk. You just... really don't want to die immediately afterwards.

[ Oh good, apparently profiling also works on vampires, or at least recently human ones. Reid's expression furrows into concern and away from fascination as she explains. He's already adjusting quite rapidly to the personalization of the supernatural, the idea that these insane, inexplicable things happen to real people with real tragedies. The commonality is actually sort of comforting. Some things are the same everywhere.

(And thanks, Gamora, for taking the brunt of his new-arrival amazement at who he was meeting.)

Reid clears his throat a little. It's clear from her story that that's how one becomes a vampire. ] I definitely wouldn't plan on it, [ he says wryly. ] That sounds... horrible, but it also seems like you've adjusted well. You don't seem too distraught.

[ And she seems, moreover, extremely human. Reid wonders how much variation there is in this among vampires? Intrinsic to personality or age-related, or... gemstone related? It could really be anything. He wishes people here came with their own convenient background libraries, like Magnus had been kind enough to. He would read everything. Not personal histories but factual histories. He's not used to operating so adrift. It's fun, thrilling, challenging in a certain way-- exasperating in others. ]

It was garbage at first. ( but caroline is unflinchingly optimistic about all things, and so moping and whinging about the worst few weeks of her life really isn't the kind of thing she ever really wants to do. especially not with a near stranger. she'll hit the highlights, but she's adjusted well enough now to not crave the therapy session. ) I mean, there's not really a "How To Be A Vampire 101" guidebook or anything. But I had really good friends — a really good friend, actually — who helped me figure things out. He taught me how to hunt, convinced our friend to make my ring, made sure I knew who to call if my bunny instincts got out of hand.

( she might sound flippant, but there's sincerity to her statement. she wouldn't be the vampire barbie she is today if it hadn't been for stefan salvatore. )

Katherine's a terrible bitch, but... ( a shrug ) I guess here, it doesn't really matter. She's not exactly the kind of person this city seems to want; she definitely doesn't play by anybody's rules.

( a pause, and caroline shifts, crossing one leg over the other. )

You can ask me questions, if you want to. Basically, me healing you is you drinking my blood, that's about all there is to it. But if you have... you know, concerns or questions about anything, I'll answer them.

[ That sounds like a frank, honest appraisal of vampire adjustment. There's no signs of deception about her, and nothing malicious. She most likely just genuinely wants to help. But she also sounds new at this, and Reid is not in the habit of drinking, well, anyone's blood. He has a lot more reluctance to get through first.

This might as well be Spencer Reid's Trust Issues: the Crash Course. But, if they get through it, that's a lot of hurdles gotten over very quickly.

Dryly, ] Anyone willing to engage in human trafficking, vampire or not, is not going to contribute to the positive energy of the city. [ He'd totally caught that little tidbit and whoever this Katherine is has instantly hit his internal list of unsubs.

Reid clears his throat. He realizes she doesn't quite know what giving him carte blanche to ask questions means, so he'll be reasonable. As furiously curious as he is. ] I have a lot of concerns and many questions, but largely I'd like to hear your experience with it. You said you were initially healed as a human. Side effects? Especially long-term effects? Grossness notwithstanding.

Well. ( her hesitance is mostly just the fact that she doesn't entirely know how to answer his question from her own perspective. she'd been unconscious, and then she'd been smothered to death, and then she'd become a vampire. not a whole lot of information there to reveal. ) For me, anyway, there wasn't really a lot of side effects at all. I was unconscious when Damon fed me his blood, and when I woke up, Katherine was trying to smother me with a pillow. Or was smothering me, I guess.

( she knows that's not enough of an answer. it's hardly even an answer at all. but, luckily, she's seen the process work on others, and that will help her answer a bit better. )

But I've watched other vampires heal people before. There aren't any side-effects, really — it's basically instant, our bodies repair themselves so fast that a wound that's already started the healing process in a human body can't help but ... be better, I guess. I mean, I did watch one girl throw up from the taste, and sometimes people try to run marathons or lift heavy things because they feel so good at first, but beyond that? It's mostly just making you better.

( for what it's worth, the fact that he's not looking at her with revulsion or fear makes her about a million times more willing to answer any questions he might come up with. she's also not rushed for time. it's not like she has anywhere else to be. )

[ Spencer listens intently. It hasn't even occurred to him be afraid or repulsed; it's actions that do that for him, not intrinsic traits. A self-controlled psychopath who strives not to hurt anyone-- and they do exist-- doesn't garner any enmity from him. If anything, he has respect for how difficult that is to maintain. It must be at least something like staying clean.

Of course, he already knows that Caroline isn't a psychopath, but he thinks already that the allegory for vampirism in terms of harming others isn't unwarranted. It must be extremely difficult, but possible. Blood bags rather than warm people can't be as appealing. It probably helps that Caroline doesn't seem to have any romanticization or glorification of vampirism.

Reid's thinking all this and about ten other things as he listens, and he makes a quiet, thoughtful noise before replying. ] When you say they feel good, would you say it's like... being high? Is it ever addictive?

[ He looks as studiously neutral as possible as he asks. ]

( she's fairly neutral about the whole thing, on average. some days, it's a benefit: being able to move at superhuman speed or with unnatural strength has its advantages, as does being able to make use of enhanced senses like hearing, to do things like detect a tick in someone's heartbeat — especially useful in high-pressure scenarios, where someone lying could mean life or death.

but there are days, too, when the constant negotiation of her identity is just draining. coming up with cover stories for things as simple as what she eats can be obnoxious and unnecessarily taxing; it hasn't been long, but caroline already has begun to understand why most vampires she knows prefer the company of other vampires. there's no pretending necessary. they're all damaged goods together.

to reid's question, though, the concept of someone being addicted to the way vampire blood makes them feel strikes her as a little silly, if only because it makes her imagine someone trying to shake down a vampire for a hit. good luck. )

I mean, it's not like crack or anything. ( a slight shrug, but after a beat, she does attempt to answer his question a little more sincerely. ) It doesn't make you feel any better than somebody really healthy, I guess. But if you're literally dying and then you're not, you probably feel like you can do anything for a little while.

[ It is a silly question. Unless you're a former narcotics addict worried about provoking his cravings again. Reid does not want to ever go back to that, no matter how much pain it puts him in. If nothing else, he would lose his job, and his job is his whole life. It's what gives him meaning.

Reid personally thinks their blood being addictive would be an incredible method of manipulation able to keep whole reams of subservient underlings in line. But then, his mind automatically jumps to the most nefarious interpretation possible, of everything.

He looks reassured by her response. ] No, that makes sense. Alright. Just one more. [ Reid cracks a smile. ] I don't have to drink a lot of it, do I? I'm definitely going to come down on the gross side.

You said you got shot, right? And the bullet was taken out?

( she's by no means a medical expert, but violence and vampirism seem to go hand-in-hand, so she's picked up a small sampling of rudimentary knowledge. just enough to get by, really. there's a brief pause while she waits for him to offer some kind of nonverbal acknowledgement — a nod or a hum of agreement, something — where caroline mentally tries to calculate the amount. )

So... a few swallows? Probably. ( she doesn't sound super confident, but... ) Definitely not, like, a whole bag or anything. And then we can go get breadsticks after, because you'll definitely be really snack-y, and there's a place here that does the best unlimited breadsticks...

( they've gone halfway across the multiverse, and this girl wants a knockoff olive garden. go figure. )

[ To be honest, Reid doesn't really have any argument against knockoff Olive Garden. He ends up quirking a smile at her in his awkward, pursed-lips sort of way, but it's genuine.

He starts heaving himself to his feet, maneuvering with his cane. ] Yes, the bullet's been removed. Let's give it a shot. My apartment's on the first floor. [ He wonders if that was an intentional accommodation of his handicap-- he wouldn't put it past a place like this. It's extremely considerate, if it was. ]

If this works and there's no weird side effects, I'll buy the breadsticks. Although, uh, do you have a heartbeat? Don't vampires not have heartbeats? How would your blood be pressurized enough for me to swallow it? [ Reid doesn't look like he's expecting an answer; he's mostly bewildered and half-complaining about illogic. ]

video | un: s.reid

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