Dr. Spencer Reid (
doctoral) wrote in
cuddletalk2018-01-25 10:09 am
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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. ]
[ 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. ]
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If you're looking to contribute to your 'acts of goodwill' around the city, I believe there's several peer mentorship programs around that age group. A little more personal than coaching.
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And it should still leave you time to take some classes, if you want. Try things out.
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[ The genuine compliment surprises him a little. Reid is used to people telling him he's smart, but in a bookish way, not a worldly way. ]
Anytime? I've spent a lot of time in college, so I can give advice about that, too. I'll probably be teaching here. [ a literal senpai ]
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[ If anyone's class is going to need a whole sheet of trigger warnings on the syllabus, it's this one. ]
... Although I should probably figure out a second class to offer.
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How do you know them?
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If it's real to you, I'll believe it. [ Simply, ] It's up to you whether you want to tell it.
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Anyway, I have abilities...people where I'm from have them, different ones. And this guy I'm talking about...he'd kill people to steal their powers.
[ Claire doesn't expect him to believe any of this, but it's worth a shot. And it's interesting to talk about this with someone who might kind of understand.]
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[ As his hands lower, he sobers again more clearly, and the way his brow furrows reveals him thinking. Reid can take the premise as given in the face of someone so clearly personally affected by it. ] That's... almost a directly literal representation of the dynamics at play in most serial murderers. People have intrinsic power and are killed to assert dominance. It's especially characteristic of a power-reassurance archetype, where competency is proven through precise shows of force and dehumanization of victims.
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Yeah he's...something. He murdered both of my birth parents and so many other people. Me included. Sort of. I mean I healed...but I was never the same.
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[ That shuts him up abruptly. There's Reid sticking his foot in it again. He swallows once before responding. ]
Yeah... I can empathize. With not being the same. I'm sorry that happened to you. [ Reid has had to say those words many times by now, but he's never lost the soft-voiced sincerity that comes with them. ]
And you think he's reformed?
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But he...spent five years in his own head.
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[ Which is typically what drives serial killers. Psychopaths can be imprisoned for decades, and the first day they're out, immediately resume their horrific activities. Reforming someone like that-- Reid can't begin to think how that would work. He's not against the idea by far, but even children and adolescents that notice their own psychopathy and seek treatment have a lifelong undertaking ahead of them. ]
Whether he has or not, there's nothing wrong with being unable to see him as someone else. Expecting a victim to forgive the person who did it is more than should be asked of anyone.
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[ Because he has her power, and now is immortal too. Supposedly. It's not something she likes to think about. ]
If he is reformed, good for him, I guess. But it doesn't mean I want anything to do with him.
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I don't see why you should have to. You could be the last two people on Earth-- what you want still matters.
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[ He has no idea how true those words are. ]
But what if we really are? The last two people...I mean.
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[ A beat. ]
Obviously I don't know him, or the case, but... At a guess? The power that he wants over you-- it's an illusion. He needs it to prove something to himself, but he'll never be truly satisfied. It's like a recovering addict. You can stay clean, but it doesn't mean you aren't always one hit away from being addicted again.
[ Speaking as a recovering addict, he can say that with authority. ]
The thing is, he can stay clean forever, but he has to do it himself. It can't be about you. You're his victim. That's not-- that's not your responsibility. And if he's pressuring you, that's not staying clean, that's just another way to exert power over you.
[ Reid didn't exactly mean to go off on a tirade about this, but this is literally his field and he has been a victim himself, in a different way, but still true. He knows how complicated this gets. He still wishes he could've saved Tobias Hankel, gotten him treatment. Tobias was a victim as much as Reid was his. But at the end of the day, he'd still rather Hankel was in the ground and he was walking around than the reverse. Hankel killed people. Almost killed him. There has to be a line somewhere, or he'll go insane. ]
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I'm not. A victim, I mean. Not anymore. I refuse to be.
[ Claire can't let that define her. She has in the past and the anger she'd felt over it was overwhelming, it nearly consumed her. ]
He thinks...we're the same. But we're not. He has so much darkness.
[ Maybe he thinks Claire can save him, that she can be his redemption. But Claire's not sure she can carry that burden. ]
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If they could, they'd never hurt you in the first place. I just-- I don't know. I won't say it's impossible. But a serial killer who's trying to reform, he just, he doesn't track down people who've survived his crimes and tell them they're just like him.
[ Reid finally starts to look openly incredulous. ]
That's either sadistic or completely lacking in empathy.
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But thank you, for the insight. I didn't really know how to process everything.
[ And Reid's helped her, more than he knows. ]
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