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blackbird-brewster · 2 days

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Meta: Jemily Queerbaiting

With the huge influx of posts saying 'Jemily is gonna be canon', I really appreciated seeing this post because OP was completely correct. I didn't want to write an entire dissertation as a reply, so I'm making my own post with my personal opinion on this. (All sources are noted in footnotes)

Before I began this rant, for anyone who thinks this is anti-Jemily. It is not. I have shipped Jemily for 18 friggin years and that's never going to change. This post is specifically my thoughts about queer baiting.

First off, I need to note that the showrunners (and the cast members who use social media) KNOW what a huge queer following this show has and that's why we got pansexual Tara Lewis in S16 [1]. Which, in itself, was SOOOOOOO important!!! Our first canonically queer main in SIXTEEN seasons was a middle-aged Black woman!!! That's phenomenal. (The fact it was horrible rep, because they instantly ruined her relationships once her queerness served it's plot point is a whole other post entirely)

In my opinion, the 'big Jemily moment' Paget posted about on Twitter [2] (and AJ hinted at during a recent IG live) is simply queerbaiting to get people to watch S17. I know a lot of you are newer to the fandom and I love your enthusiasm, I really do, ship and let ship, but listen, let's be real, Jemily is not going to be made canon. The showrunners aren't going to suddenly say (after 17 seasons) 'Surprise, Jemily is endgame'. This show has never cared about queer rep and now that CBS/Paramount have already ticked their queer rep box with Tara, they won't be in any rush to add any other characters to it.

Please buckle in, I've got a lot of thoughts on this matter --

What is Queerbaiting?

If you aren't aware of what queerbaiting is, here's a good definition:

Historically, queerbaiting has carried two meanings: the first is an act of aggressive heterosexuality to shut down queer subtext on screen while still teasing and catering to the queer audience in advertising, public relations, and fan engagement strategies; the second is an existing homoerotic tension between two characters played up on screen while met with derision by the professionals behind the scenes. [3]

The Medium article quoted here is from 2017, a time when parasocial relationships were really starting to take over social media. In 2024, actors are now only a mention or tag away online, they have direct conversations with fans, and this process has allowed for an even deeper form of queerbaiting.

Oftentimes online, actors are asked directly about certain ships and while some ignore these questions (usually to avoid breaking their contracts or other repercussions), others (looking at you, Paget) choose to instead tease fans about queer ships. She's done this for years upon years and if I've learned anything in the past twenty-years of existing in fandom spaces it's this -- don't hold your breath. In it's original meaning, for something to be deemed as queerbaiting there had to be malicious, or at least, purposeful intent to string queer fans along by teasing them with suggestive content about the ship in question, while knowing this ship will never come to fruition in canon.

The thing to remember is, Paget and AJ aren't the only ones who know about Jemily shippers -- the network and showrunners are well aware of this ship too. When networks/showrunners figure out they have a strong sapphic fanbase, they love to use that to their advantage to get more viewers and higher ratings. Queerbaiting is a goldmine to keep fans watching long running shows, look at Rizzoli and Isles, Supergirl, and OUAT for examples of this.

Jemily and Queerbaiting:

Ever since Emily joined the BAU in S2 (2006), there have always been fans who ship JJ/Emily (shoutout to the old LJ forums!). Way before celebs were just a tweet away from fans, back when all our fics began with disclaimers so we wouldn't get sued by networks, we went to great lengths to keep our fanworks far removed from actors/showrunners attention.

As far as Jemily goes, this reply from Paget in a 2009 interview with TVGuide.com [4] (which has now been deleted from their site unfortunately, but there are quotes on Tumblr still [4.a]) confirmed some fans' worst fear -- the actors had found our fanworks online.

TVGuide.com: Of course, a band of fans want her to hook up with Hotch.

Brewster: I know! I didn't realize that fans make these videos on YouTube? A.J. Cook sent me a hilarious one that made it look like Prentiss and J.J. were having a secret lesbian affair. You know, when Hotch was blown up in the SUV, we shot this scene where he's in the hospital and I'm standing next to him, looking at his bleeding ear. Our director came in and said, "Paget, you're looking at Hotch like you're in love with him. It looks really weird." So now, every day, Thomas [Gibson] and I flutter our eyelids at each other.

This was the first time I recall anyone acknowledging Jemily shippers publicly and at the time (Jan 2009), the show was still in Season Four (just before CBS fired both AJ and Paget [5]). Paget genuinely said it's 'hilarious' that fans shipped JJ/Emily. Even now, I'll see people say 'We know Paget and AJ have seen Jemily fanvids, so they obviously ship it too' -- but those same people rarely acknowledge the full context of the original answer. Paget not only thought JJ/Emily were 'hilarious', but then she doubled down and turned her reply back to how she and Thomas liked to play up the chemistry between Emily/Hotch.

While no one can say for sure which video it was that AJ sent Paget, just knowing they were watching JJ/Emily fanvids sent a bit of a shockwave through the femslash side of the fandom. To some it felt like an invasion of privacy, fanworks are by fans for fans -- knowing the cast were poking around in fandom spaces added an extra layer of worry around what we fans were posting online. Fifteen years ago, it used to be quite taboo for actors to outwardly discuss shipping or other fanon for whatever show they were in, and we fans were usually comfortably removed from the actors altogether.

Of course, now it's the norm for fans and actors/showrunners to co-exist online and interact with one another. This connection has opened new ways for shows to queerbait their fans. Pretty much every show has some form of social media account now and there is no doubt that the people running those accounts keep up with the most popular ships and hashtags. Not to mention that actors are constantly barraged with questions about whether they ship their character with x,y,z, or whether they think a ship should be made canon, etc. These interactions only serve to benefit the shows themselves, because whether the conversation is for or against a certain ship, it's all just free publicity (Why do you think CM now has a TikTok account?)

Every time AJ or Paget say anything about Jemily, the queer side of the fandom loses their minds. But this has been going on for YEARS now and every single time, it turns out to be nothing but social media hype and queerbaiting. Remember this AJ post? [6] Or what about the notorious reply by Paget to a fan, where she talks about how she and AJ held hands under the table 'for the shippers' [7] I've seen this cycle over and over again, so perhaps I am cynical, but I'm not getting my hopes up that Jemily will ever seriously be canon.

It's widely known now, after both Kirsten [8] and Paget [9] have talked about it, that there was an early idea where Prentiss was supposed to be queer, but that was ultimately scraped before it ever made it on screen. For context, please remember, this show has been airing for nearly twenty years. It began in 2005, during the highly conservative Bush administration. Queer people didn't have rights in the US, we couldn't get married, we were rarely protected under discrimination laws, and we could even be fired for simply being queer (in some states). Diverse queer representation on screen was extremely limited to things like 'The L Word' and 'Queer as Folk' (both aired on Showtime, so they were behind a paywall. And as far as tLw goes, that show was extremely male-gaze focused and is horrible in nearly all regards if you try to rewatch it now). As far as prime time shows went, queer rep was even more rare. Which is why Emily wasn't queer from the get-go.

Yes, things have changed since 2006 in terms of queer rep on TV. We have a myriad of queer identities represented in TV and film nowadays, which is why I think it's so easy for newer fans to say 'lf she was supposed to be gay anyway, they should just make Emily queer in canon!' I know this is what fuels most fans' demands for Emily being confirmed queer, and I get it, I DO. I would be all for it! However, I do not, in one hundred years, actually believe that is going to happen after they already canonically queer confirmed Tara in S16. The fact we even got ONE queer character is ground-breaking for this show.

It's also worth noting, that in the time between Paget's departure in 2012 and her return in 2016, she became very active on Twitter. This was when more and more fans began asking her about Jemily and after Kirsten's AfterEllen interview, fans also pushed for Paget to address the possibility of Emily being gay. 'Pushed' is actually an understatement for some of the outright harassment she would receive. (AJ received some of this harassment too, but less so because she doesn't use social media ass often) Back then, neither of them replied to these things directly. Yet, no matter what either woman posted, the replies were full of Jemily stans begging for her acknowledgement. (Did you know 'stan' is literally a term coined for stalker fans?) I remember one time AJ's friend was missing and she posted info on her IG about it, you know what the replies were? People asking her about Jemily. It was genuinely sickening.

Within this context, it was no surprise to fans when Emily came back in S12 , she and JJ's friendship was seemingly erased. The two women were rarely on screen together in the late seasons, plus the writers saw fit to even give Emily not only one (Mark in London, but two, on-screen boyfriends for the first time in the entire series. I personally do not think these changes to Emily's character were coincidence, I saw the hellscape of what people would say to AJ and Paget online and I fully believe that upon Paget's return to the show, the showrunners purposely tried to distance JJ and Emily to dissuade the more abusive side of the fanbase.

Can I prove that, no. But it is the only reason I can think of as to why Emily S12+ seemingly didn't care about JJ anymore, despite their deep and meaningful friendship. I mean, they both CROSSED THE WORLD to go rescue each other in prior canon -- but when Emily comes back, they acted like they barely knew each other. This was even more prevalent in S16, when JJ's main storylines all revolved around Will, and Emily barely looked at JJ in the entirety of ten episodes. (Remember how Prentiss didn't even hug JJ after bomb, but she did go hug Luke?)

So, do Paget and AJ earnestly ship Jemily, or are they continuing the long tradition of queerbaiting us? Who fucking knows, not me. But based on the history of this fandom, I think I can make a safe bet. (Interestingly, if you search all of Paget's twitter for the word 'Jemily' [10] she only has 3 direct tweets mentioning the ship. I don't think it's a coincidence that two are within the past few months since they started filming S17 (the other one was a RT of Kirsten (who tagged something Jemily)

This is all to say --

Just because Paget and AJ have publicly talked about Jemily,, this doesn't mean it's ever going to happen on screen. And you know what, THAT'S OKAY!! There has been this constant outcry (after Tara became queer confirmed) of 'Do Emily next' or 'Why wasn't it Emily with a girlfriend!?' and 'Jemily needs to be canon in S17!' -- as if people believe their ships aren't worth anything unless they are canon.

That couldn't be further from the truth! Fandom is built on headcanons and fan interpretations and rare pairs and all types of shippers. Your ship does NOT need to be canon for you to enjoy it. I will ship Jemily forever, no matter what. I don't think there will be some magical queer plot in S17, at best, we might actually get to see Emily/JJ on screen together again and after the train wreck that was S16 -- I'll take whatever I can get.

And hey -- if I am completely wrong, if Erica Messer pulls a Korrasami out of her hat, I will be ecstatic. I will be happy to be proved wrong, but at the same time, I'm not going to lose sleep over it and I'm DEFINITELY not going to go hound the actors about it on social media.

Sources:

[1] 2022 Digital Spy article about the importance of Tara's coming out

[2] 04/18/24 Paget Tweet

[3] 2017 Queerbaiting article from medium.com

[4] 2009 Broken TVGuide link

[4.a] Tumblr quote from the above TVGuide Interview

[5] 2010 Kirsten interview screenrant.com

[6] 2019 AJ Instagram Post

[7] 2020 Paget video on Twitter (via @karasluthqr)

[8] 2015 Kirsten interview AfterEllen.com

[9] 2016 Paget Interview CriminalMindsFans.com

[10] @PagetPaget search 'Jemily'

#criminal minds #emily prentiss #jennifer jareau #paget brewster #aj cook #cm commentary #queerbaiting #cm meta #criminal minds evolution #cm evolution #my writing #long post

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jenny-from-the-bau · 10 months

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I think one of the most tragic things about Jemily in canon for me is that there’s always a sense that both women know. JJ and Emily are both aware that something almost happened between them. They know that there’s tension, that they love each other. JJ knows why Emily keeps leaving and Emily knows why JJ has to stay with Will. Every time they talk about how hard the past is, or how happy they are to be reunited, there’s such a sense that things could be different.

If they’d made a different choice somewhere along the line, then this reunion would be something else entirely. They may never have been separated at all. The sad look on Emily’s face when she pushes JJ toward Will. The little headshake JJ gives Emily when she tells them she’s leaving and Emily says “you’re too good”. JJ and Emily on the plane to Paris, JJ and Emily’s look at the wedding, the constant checking in later as they try to be close and keep their distance all at once. They know how great they could have been and they know they missed their chance.

#og #reposting my old shit?#maybe lmao #jemily #criminal minds #cm meta #jennifer jareau #emily prentiss #jj #queue

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eldrai · 1 year

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Please do!

Bless you, anon, for asking about it. Apologies in advance for wonky tumblr formatting. My response is uploaded on my ao3 here and is probably easier to read there.

This Is Calm And He’s A Doctor

Fandom Ableism in Criminal Minds

So this is a response to my post here which is talking about ableism in fandom spaces. The most major trend in the CM fandom (not the show – the show treats anything that isn’t depression or anxiety as Horrifying Serial Killer disorder because it’s 2000s copaganda) is the infantilisation of Reid.

As an autistic person myself, to be honest, I find it really uncomfortable.

Disclaimer: this is a trend I’ve noticed and is not about any one person in particular. Just want to make that very clear. Also yes, I know this is fanfiction, people do this for fun, they owe me nothing. And this isn’t me telling people not to write Reid or that they should only do it one way. This is me explaining my discomfort. That is all.

Reid is incredibly smart, not only in achieving his PhDs at his age but the outside knowledge he has of just about everything due to his eidetic memory. He’s also good at making connections between items of evidence and picking up on patterns in the geographical profiles. Since the start of the series he’s gained more confidence in social interactions and he’s shown to be able to fend for himself in interactions with unsubs both in interviews and out. He carries a gun after he passed the qualifications for it early on in the series. He often gives clear lectures on topics he’s an expert on in front of full auditoriums (and OK, his jokes might not always land but that’s hardly a professional impairment). He is at minimum competent and most of the time far more than that. And he’s autistic.

Though it’s never confirmed technically, it’s a popular interpretation followed by a lot of people, and a lot of those people write autistic!Reid as a dedicated tag. Due to CM being, again, an early 2000s TV programme, he is never allowed more clear identifiers but it’s generally agreed he is autistic, whether that’s the main plot point of a fic or not.

Yet there is a trend in fanfic where Reid is treated like a child. An adult autistic FBI agent with multiple PhDs treated like the baby of the team because he is autistic (or displays autistic traits) and as an autistic person, it’s uncomfortable to see happen. Even on a less personal level, the portrayal of Reid as relying on the team as opposed to being supported by them, like the rest of the characters are, is just out of character. This is the same man who had to take care of his schizophrenic mother after his father left. Beyond his addiction, he is never shown to be unable to take care of himself. I don’t doubt part of the infantilisation comes from the addiction but that’s not a topic I know enough about to have much of a take on, which is why I’m focusing on the autism instead.

I want to make it clear that this treatment of Reid is not automatically the same as fics with him being more ‘openly’ autistic or having higher support needs. It’s a venn diagram with some overlap but it’s not a given thing. There are plenty of really good fanfic out there that doesn’t infantilise him. Nor am I saying the people who do infantilise him do it out of malice or on purpose.

The difference is in the approach and intent.

An adult with high support needs is still an adult. You wouldn’t treat them like a child because they are an adult. If someone had trouble with auditory processing or following instructions and required clearer and simpler phrasing, you might talk to them differently but you would still not talk to them like a child – an adult with specific needs. You wouldn’t be talking down because you are aware you’re talking to an adult. To automatically talk to the adult as you would a child is ableist. To view them as less capable of understanding is ableist. The entire concept of ‘mental age’ is bad, though other people have written far more about that in disabled circles, because it often leads people to treat disabled adults as children.

There is nothing inherently childish about disabled adults or anyone with higher support needs. And autistic people are autistic but we are not only autistic.

And this is where I think people can go wrong – even and especially people with good intentions! In not erasing Reid’s autistic traits it’s easy to get caught up on focusing on him being autistic. And that isn’t inherently bad.

But when the writing or narrative starts to treat him like a child, that’s when it becomes uncomfortable. Because it strips away his agency and erases who he is as a character. It suggests that autistic people and/or their needs are childish just for being autistic. Infantilisation is a very real thing for many, many autistic people so to see it in fic over and over again, especially for Reid whose character epitomises intelligence, can get incredibly wearing.

For example, this ask highlights that the language used can be condescending:

I think the other thing I’ve seen (as an autistic adult very close in age to S1 Reid) is that the other characters (particularly Hotch) will call Reid “buddy”

In canon, the only person Hotch ever calls buddy is Jack, and Jack is four-five in most of his appearances. In his last appearance, he’s about ten. So that is just something that kind of infuriates me. In a lot of interactions people write between the team and autistic Reid, it sounds more like the interaction should happen with Henry or Jack, when Reid is a fully grown adult.

When the interaction between an autistic adult and his colleagues who have the same job as him can be imagined between a child instead, it comes across as incredibly infantilising. We do see Morgan call him ‘kid’ in the show but that comes across as light teasing, more because Reid’s the youngest and (at the start) newest member of the team, sort of like siblings.

Another example of the wider treatment of Reid in the fandom, not just limited to fic, is the way other characters are often demonised for interrupting him when on the job. I love Reid’s infodumping and it is genuinely endearing. I’ve also been in similar situations where I either do realise I need to stop or someone gives me some cue to. But Reid has a job to do – generally a pretty urgent one. Yes, the others can be more polite in cutting him off, especially in the earlier seasons. No, I don’t think it is as rude as some people do. They do need to move on from topic to topic, especially at a crime scene with a lot of evidence and clues to process, and Reid would know that the job involves that. Sometimes it is necessary to move on and the team often does this with just his name – which is not a particularly negative cue in itself.

This often ties in with the belief that he’s unable to stick up for himself if he did see it as rude. As Reid mentions: he was in LA public schools at nine and he is an adult during the series, albeit a young one. I doubt he completely lacks the ability to ask someone not to interrupt him – the same colleagues he’s comfortable enough with to mess around with physics tricks. If it is shown they address him as Dr. Reid deliberately so local police know how to address him, I believe the show might have shown if he was uncomfortable with being interrupted.

As the show goes on we also see this become more casual and more easily intuited by Reid, which suggests it’s not something he is opposed to. This interaction between him and Hotch in 7x07

Reid: I’m rambling again, aren’t I?

Hotch: Yes.

is presented naturally in the show, and Reid himself being the one to ask Hotch shows that he does not mind being told when he is rambling. (Also, I firmly believe this is one of the most autistic interactions in the entire show from both sides but that’s neither here nor there). A few episodes later in 7x11 Reid calls out someone faking their cousin being the unsub for attention in front of many people and news cameras so I think it’s fair to say by this time in canon he’d be confident enough to speak to the team about his infodumping.

In 7x21 this is even more casual, where Hotch lightly taps Reid on the arm again implying that it is a relatively common occurrence. Even in an early season (2x13) Hotch does it with the dialogue “Reid. Stop, please.” and it’s worth noting that beforehand, Prentiss was engaging with his infodumping, not discouraging. In another episode it is “Reid. Reid. How do we find them?” which arguably redirects him to explain how his observation is linked to the case rather than cutting it off completely.

Therefore I find that the impact of the team interrupting or redirecting Reid is often not as large as many people insinuate or, to phrase it better, the intent and execution of it by the team as less mean. Again, autistic people are not children: Reid is more than capable of (a) dealing with hurt feelings and (b) speaking up about hurt feelings and is never shown to dislike the team for it. While this can be a painful experience for autistic people in real life it is not presented as such in the show and implying it must automatically be for Reid erases his agency and ability to handle such situations and/or emotions on his own.

As an aside, the belief that Hotch is mean/cold/unemotional is often evidenced by his lack of expression and affect. I have no problem with that belief based on canon evidence. What I am not a fan of is this idea that if you don’t perform emotions correctly – i.e. the way society at large decides people should – that you lack them entirely.

Reid’s canon snippier or badass moments, such as 3x14, going into the train to talk to the psychotic unsub, talking down numerous other unsubs and more I haven’t even seen yet (as of early Season 9) – many of them except the iconic “This is calm and it’s Doctor.” – are often overlooked to feed into this narrative. Reid is highly capable and it’s proven many times throughout the show. His performance only really suffers during/after the Maeve ordeal, his dilaudid addiction and the migraine arc, which are all reasonable circumstances that any person would find it hard to work well through.

And this idea of Reid being more fragile than he really is in canon has a tendency to extend to fic via his hurt feelings being used as a plot device for members of the team to have to help or ‘save’ him as if he couldn’t do those things if they weren’t there to remind him. Full disclosure here: this includes a couple of my own fics too. When the plot hinges around Reid, who is more than competent, being unable to deal with a few mean words and relies on the allistic (non-autistic) people rescuing him… it can feel demeaning.

That isn’t to say he can’t ever be fragile or hurt. That’s not to say those things can’t ever bother him because of course they can, and the team should be there for him. But like the rest of the team, he is fully capable of holding his own. If nothing else, to say he isn’t is out of character.

Another area in which the infantilisation becomes quite clear is in shipping.

Again, I’m going to add a disclaimer that no ships, tropes and/or dynamics themselves are inherently the problem. That just isn’t how it works and to claim otherwise would be wrong and also erasing all the works using those things which do portray Reid well in character.

Most Reid ships using D/S or omegaverse dynamics place him into the traditionally submissive role as the smaller, more ‘innocent’ character. Admittedly this will have a lot to do with the stereotypes of masculine behaviour and appearance and there are people who can articulate that far better than I can. However, the choice frequently made to have the autistic character fill this role is worth questioning as I believe his autism plays a significant role in the decision.

There is a common stereotype of autistic characters being asexual and inexperienced with sex, or overly ‘innocent’ and pure despite being adults. It’s worth saying that there is nothing wrong with asexual autistic characters, especially when they are made or headcanoned by autistic and/or autistic asexuals, and asexual autistic people’s existence is not fulfilling stereotypes. The innocent perception comes from the idea autistic adults are unable of comprehending or enjoying sex, a blanket stereotype which can be harmful to real life autistic people.

In Reid’s case, he’s an adult who works for the BAU. He has seen incredibly graphic crime scenes which often involve sexual components and he is not shy about discussing the significance of the sexual elements. I would not say this makes him new to the subject even if he has not had or does not have sex. And though his awkwardness is often used as something of a joke, he’s shown at multiple points throughout the series to display romantic interest and have people be interested in him (Reid getting phone numbers and being propositioned, for starters, as well as Maeve) including Lila.

Yet many fics like to portray him as immature and completely new to the idea of sex to contrast him with someone more dominant and experienced who can show him the ropes, pun not intended. He’s hardly Derek Morgan but he is not completely unused to the idea of romantic and/or sexual relationships and the automatic assumption he would be – that his lack of major interest is an inherent quality in him rather than a choice, like with any other adult – reinforces the idea of autistic adults as innocent and childish.

(Note: it’s the idea of innocence vs the role of submissive that I’m questioning here. There is absolutely nothing wrong with autistic adults, real and fictional, taking on submissive roles. It’s just about being a constant pattern in fanfic.)

This is overwhelmingly present in Hotchreid fanfiction, though definitely not all: a tendency for Reid to be stripped of his wit, his immense knowledge and his confidence to fit neatly into the mold of almost helpless, ‘pure’ man relying on Hotch. Because it is almost always Reid forced into this role.

Why can’t Reid be dominant? Why can’t Reid enjoy sex just as much as other characters? Because he doesn’t have to talk about it all the time to do that. Why is it so often Reid being lead, Reid being new, Reid in that submissive role? I believe sometimes it is a good thing to question why we write what we write.

Of course, I see the appeal of Hotchreid and I see why people ship it. I’ve got nothing against it as a ship – the whole younger/older man thing? Yeah. It’s a big draw. And I’m not saying Reid is only ever put into that more submissive role because he’s autistic, because he isn’t, but I do believe it is a factor.

(A quick mostly unrelated tangent: Hotch married his childhood sweetheart. For most of the series he has only ever had two partners – if either of them are going to know the intricacies of BDSM, I’d put my money on the single avid reader. But that’s the fun of fiction, playing around with stuff!)

Even in fics without such dynamics (and I stress again the use of dynamics itself has nothing to do with my qualms here) the perception of Reid as the inexperienced partner who needs taking care of tends to bleed through. Having the autistic character seen as such where there is no reason he should be is again infantilising him, presenting him as less of an equal in maturity in the relationship.

This is my biggest reason to believe his autism can lead to the infantilisation. There is no need for someone to be so submissive out of a relationship with defined dynamics so the fact so many fics do still push elements of those tropes onto Reid is very telling. Like there’s something about Reid which makes people view him as more inexperienced and needy.

Hell, fanart often depicts Reid as much smaller in proportion to the team where canonically, there is only about an inch difference in height between Hotch (1.87m) – the tallest – and Reid and Morgan, who are both around 6’1” (1.85m) and this is in pieces which are not overly stylised. Reid might be a pipe cleaner with eyes (my favourite insult) but he’s not a short one. To be clear I’m not criticizing the quality of the art, because fanartists are incredibly talented, but the decision to make Reid so much smaller.

In particular, there is often a larger difference in size between Reid and Morgan than canonically exists with Reid being smaller and Morgan larger than canon. Black fans in other spaces have pointed out trends in fandom with racist overtones, e.g:

Black/brown characters written or drawn as significantly larger (height and muscle-wise) than their canon self and/or a white character or a light-skinned character of color [Source]

It’s not my place to speak about this, so I’ll leave you with their thoughts and just add that Reid’s autistic traits go hand-in-hand with babying him.

It extends to platonic interactions with the team, at times treating him little better than an actual child. See: calling him ‘buddy’ which is the term literally used about Jack. Reid may be the youngest but he is a functioning part of the team, not a responsibility, not an obligation, yet so many fics work with the framework that he is simply unable to recognise his own needs. A trained FBI agent, may I remind you. And that’s not to say that he never struggles or he should never have his friends caring for him, but that it shouldn’t be any different to any of the rest of the team being comforted.

These things aren’t necessarily a problem but when they happen over and over again, all the time, when they start to become a pattern, it does raise the question: what about this character suggests he should be treated with kid gloves?

It isn’t intentional. I will say that now and I do believe it: people aren’t looking at Reid, going ‘oh, he’s autistic,’ and immediately deciding to put him in those roles. We are rarely so straightforward and most biases like that are completely unconscious. That’s what makes them tricky to talk about and to understand. Furthermore, having Reid be treated that way reads as out of character at times – this is the same Reid who has jokes made about his age, who the team go out of their way to introduce as Dr. specifically so that people know and respect him. Would they really turn around and treat him like he’s incapable of independence? Would Reid want or tolerate that?

And I’m not saying nobody should write the topics I’ve mentioned. These things existing is not a problem: sub Reid, omega Reid, the team taking care of. It’s when they become the only things Reid’s story is about, when the need for Reid to be infantilised is central to the story and his real character is erased, that we should question why.

Because from where I stand it looks an awful lot like his autistic traits.

#meta #criminal minds #spencer reid #autistic reid #fandom ableism #ableism #criminal minds meta #cm meta #hotchreid #criticism

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sarah-cam · 1 year

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The Will slander doesn't make sense when you actually look at how his character has been written as a husband and father. Obviously, willifer gets angst with their schedules but they even had Will say "it takes two to tango" so he's putting it on himself as well lmao

yup!! i mean look i’m all for ship-and-let-ship as long as you mind your business. you wanna not like a ship, fine — there are ships i don’t like!! you wanna not like a character because of another ship, cool for you i guess 🤷🏻‍♀️ as long as you’re considerate when it comes to tagging and don’t harass people, i could not care less about people having fun with their bad opinions 😂

will is genuinely such a good man, husband, and father and he truly sets the standard for all men 👑

#anon #answered #criminal minds #cm meta

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bearprofessorr · 1 year

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kay so new cm episode names have dropped so heres some meta to spark some ideas abt what might be going on there B)

16x02: “sicarius” so there’s two things that come up with this search - a species of recluse spider, with a venom called “Loxoscelism” which causes necrosis around the bite area. the second thing is the “sicarii” who were zealots opposing roman occupation of judea (plus some more religious links, some more modern than others)

since we also know about the whole ‘web’ thing of unsubs being connected during covid -- classic spiders web metaphor, very nice -- and im guessing the main murderer for that episode uses some kind of necrotic poison or acidic thing with the same effect.

16x04: “pay-per-view” probably focusing around hotels/ppv content (could be some kind of OF connection there if they’re going the mega-modern approach considering it got popularised around covid era) either way its going into the roots of high-risk victims or some kind of snuff content that the unsub is making? eh im not too sure about that one.

16x05: “oedipus wrecks” oh hell yeah oedipus complex, which comes from a play about oedipus rex by sophocles. taking from the britannica, its about “the king of Thebes who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother “ so if there isn’t any incest in this i will actually be surprised! also interfamily conflict 100%, its wrecks instead of rex so another fun little pun about how its ruining the family/relationships of the people around them yk.

16x08: “pas de deux” eheheheh dance references!! so im assuming a duo of some kind, which OOOH i always loved the duo episodes of cm theyre so FUN. either its gonna be a couple or it focuses around ballet and some kind of competitive couple (maybe even an understudy gone mad to get the role of their dreams, even with the assistance of a partner who got cast as the main role) <[if they dont use that im stealing it for a fic]

also cant believe theres just an episode called MOOSE??? are they going to canada again????

ANYWAYS i am just yelling into the void but if u have any other ideas abt the new episodes lmk!!!!

#criminal minds #cm meta #criminal minds: evolution #can you tell im hyperfixating on cm and finally have an outlet to just scream about it???#eheheheh there will be more #cm s16

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satoshy12 · 9 months

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Tall Girl Jazz x Jason

Jason had already spent a few days in this city called Amity Park. He was planning to take a break, and this place was far away from villains and similar places as it was so isolated.

As he walked down the street, he bumped into someone. It was a woman, a very tall woman—he would say over 2 meters tall—with aqua blue eyes and long orange hair. And it was love at first sight.

"You must be new? Sorry, I didn't see you."

Jason worked fast:" No, no, no, it was my fault. How about making up for it with a cafe?"

She smiled at him with a bit of surprise, and he saw tiny fangs. "Sounds good; my name is Jazz Fenton, and yours is."

"Jason Todd, my name is Jason Todd."

The Ectoplasm in Amity Park had such effects on the people that all of them are now Metas.

Jazz is as tall as Alcina Dimitrescu, who is 2,9 m tall.

Jason is 1,82 m tall.

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ssaseaprince · 7 months

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Can we talk about how Derek obviously has a type because Spencer and Penelope are so similar.

#whether you see them as romantic or not #his closest most genuine friendships/relationships are with two people who are VERY similar #I just think it's cute #Because in theory youd think “oh big muscular jock whos a player” and you wouldnt associate him with them #but then you realize that his best friends are socially awkward nerds who hate any kind of physical exercise #and are very eccentric #and ill add “conventionally” attractive even though we all know thats bs because theyre both hot asf #I just think its so wholesome cause its like opposites attractive kind of thing #and hes just so open-minded and loving and the least judgemental person ever #cm #criminal minds #criminal minds meta #derek morgan #ssa derek morgan #spencer reid #ssa spencer reid #penelope garcia #moreid

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moongothic · 2 months

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There is something funny to be said about how both Dragon and Crocodile are like 2½ meters tall, they are massive fucking men. But Luffy's 174 cm, that's the height of a regular ass person. Which makes him 80 cm shorter than his dads, nearly a whole meter in height difference

Which makes me wonder

Was Luffy a regular-sized baby by our standards but absolutely itty bitty tiny when compared to his dads (like he would've fit onto Dragon's palm), or was Luffy a massive ass fucking baby who came into the world huge but didn't actually get the Huge Motherfucker-genes from his parents and just stayed short

#Moon posting #OP Meta #Crocodad #I'm just saying if Luffy was itty bitty then keeping that pregnancy a secret could've been easier #Like. Yeah Oda could pull another ''Rouge who was 20 months pregnant was thin like a rake''#But I'd rather he didn't #And if we can find an excuse to how Crocodile could hide a pregnancy in plain sight for a considderable amount of time #Then yeah. Him being huge (even pre-HRT) (he better have been huge pre-HRT. Oda I will beat you up) with a tiny baby could work #The real point of this post however was indeed the idea that Luffy could've been an itty bitty newborn compared to his dads #Like the size of a kitten by our standards #Yeah. That mental image is something #(Sidenote Dragon is appearently 31 cm shorter than Garp too)#(So it seems like the Monkey Family be shrinking) (If Luffy ever has a kid then the kid will be less than a meter tall eh)

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jenny-from-the-bau · 9 months

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I think Emily and JJ both have an interesting struggle of like…. How do you complain about your personal struggles when you come from places of such privilege? Like Emily could complain about child neglect and being made to grow up too fast and like no emotional support, but those things happened because she was filthy rich, lived in a million countries, and her mother paid for her to do whatever the fuck she wanted. JJ could complain about childhood trauma and constant misperception and no coping skills for emotions, but that happened because she grew up in a white, protestant middle class town and she’s a very pretty white, blonde girl and she wants more. Does that make sense?

Like they have (in fanon, I guess) some minority struggles. Emily grew up a lesbian and JJ grew up closeted/repressed and now they work for a government that hates gays and DADT is still in effect and there’s no gay marriage in sight, etc etc. But they’re still white and wealthy and all of that. So, how much can they complain, really? Just some thoughts.

#og #jemily #jj #emily prentiss #jennifer jareau #criminal minds #cm meta #queue

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poorly-drawn-mdzs · 10 months

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Sorry I'm a bit late on this, but I just wanted to say congrats on finishing season 1 !! 🥳

LOSING MY MIND AT HOW PERFECT THIS IS!!!!!! THANK YOU PIO!!!!! B'*)

#fanart #This is so so so sweet...seriously thank you so much for everything pio #I'm ENTRANCED!!!!!! I've been ponyfied!!!! with the boots and cutie mark to match!!!!!#you're a huge inspiration in so many ways B'''*)#And the little creatures...they are so small but so perfectly shaped #Miss apple is PERCHED. Little Wangji is BRAIDING. Little WWX is living his best life (that face is..so cute)#little jing lin and fairy....aughh my HEART #and of course the lan junior duo.....standing smiling and standing silly. As they should be.#They are also height accurate to canon form <3 #I was wating for someone to point it out but...there's a reason everytime I draw them next to flowers they are small B*)#all pd-mdzs characters are ~5-7 cm tall. They are like little fairies. I was serious every time I referred to the little strands as antenna #Rather they are like little borrowers. They have little mouse paws and tails. little mouse noses. Fine little whiskers. In my heart.#the more you know!#(I will draw them as the creatures they deserve to be. One day.)#On a meta level they are also very small. Each square panel is 1/4 of a sticky note. about 8 comics fit on one page.#Scrolling back up to look at Pio's art again to remember what its all for. That living is worth it.#Kissing this art gently and accidently hitting the post button to let these beautiful creatures roam the world wide web.#Maybe I should draw my sona as a horse for a bit... It would solve my problems about not having enough horses to draw....

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sarah-cam · 1 year

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I'm Team focus on the personal lives of the characters more on Criminal Minds👋 I think having a main unsub arc helps with that and I'm loving the focus on Willifer sorrynotsorry

baby girl you’re not alone and you SHOULDN’T be sorry

i also love the main unsub with mini unsubs and not just because i’m obsessed with zach gilford (even though i am 😚)

#answered #anon #criminal minds #cm meta

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maschotch · 2 years

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I would love to hear your thoughts about Hotch and fire because I never really noticed it but when you point it out it does stand out as something he gets VERY affected by very quickly

its not the most obvious pattern, which is par for the course when it comes to anything relating to hotch’s past. but i think its sooo interesting that hotch seems to be on edge/more emotional when they deal with cases involving fire. in ashes and dust he seems particularly moved talking to the burn victim and insists on being the one to speak to her; in house on fire he averts his eyes from the burnt corpses and has a shorter temper; in devil’s night he’s antsy the whole case and makes brash decisions (like running into a burning building???)

its subtle changes, so subtle that im not entirely convinced im not just hallucinating it all, but it seems like there’s something there. especially during the final confrontation with the unsubs in each of those episodes: the steel-faced hotch is gone, and he seems incapable of hiding his fear. in devil’s night he has a hard time looking away from the unsub’s lighter; in house on fire he keeps glancing down at the spilled gasoline. if it was anyone else i wouldnt pay any mind, but hotch is known for staring down death (like with foyet). he’s.. uncharacteristically emotional

i feel like something must have happened. even gideon—who has better insight on hotch’s past than anyone—seems concerned when hotch volunteers to go to the burn ward or gets distracted looking at a child’s burnt shoe on the ground. the way hotch lingers on the picture of the mother with her son… something mustve happened in the past for him to take this so personally

im not sure what it is. again, we dont really know anything about hotch’s background (and what we do know is frequently contradicted a couple seasons later—like the way his father died) so its not like we have a lot to work with. simply because of his interaction with charlotte cutler, i think it might have something to do with his mom? we dont know anything about her outside other than her attending mary baldwin. there are just so many unknown variables and oddly intimate moments of connection he has with various abused-sons throughout the seasons

was he in a fire growing up? was his mother? maybe his mom was inside and he stood helpless on the outside, unable to save her? was it an arsonist? was it his father? or was it his mother herself—tired of her life and trying to tear it all down with her? was it all just a horrible accident? was it before or after his father’s death? was his mom dying the final push for hotch to stand up to his father?

there are just… so many questions. so many possibilities. but, whatever happened, hotch is definitely afraid of fire.

#r there too many links? i wanted to cite my sources lol #asks #aaron hotchner #i feel like i should have a cm meta tag but i feel like its too fucking late #anyway.#my personal fav potential backstory is his mom going crazy #full on wander the halls; yellow wallpaper; haunting of hill house crazy lady long white dress mom shit #and--wanting to spare her sons from suffering any further--sets the house ablaze; not realizing no one else is inside #(or maybe baby sean is inside and he's the only hotch can get out?)#if it happened before his dad's death then i think this moment drove hotch to finally kill him #if it happened after his dad's death.. it means his mom is Way Crazier than we thought #and i think it'd be fun if it was shortly after hotch started going through puberty #so he's getting taller and he's starting to look more like his father #and his mom (unable to come to terms with her husband's death--unable to come to terms w her son killing her husband) rejects that reality #she gets confused and think aaron is the one who died. and when aaron tries to approach her she recoils as tho he was his father #he gets Freaked the Fuck Out by that #then goes to get groceries or some shit and when he comes back the house is in flames #smth like that #very emo very wattpad #but its MY headcanon i can be cringe if i want

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ragingstillness · 2 months

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How I think the various members of the BAU would fare were they given Spencer’s prison plot line

Note: this is based off of how prisons are depicted in the show and in fiction in general and these are my personal hcs

Emily:

I think Emily is about the only one who could survive in prison personality unchanged. Maybe slightly more unhinged, but she’d make her strength known quickly and probably become the leader of a girl gang

JJ:

JJ would play up the Halo Effect Killer aspect, using unsubs she’d seen as a model for behaving like you used your beauty to escape consequences for your crimes. She’d master a dead-eyed stare and not speak often

Penelope:

Penelope would be perceived as weak at first and might face some bullying, but if she tapped into her hacker persona and used her actual crimes she’d gain prison cred. She wouldn’t be a member or leader of a gang but she’d have a few hanger ons and people wouldn’t mess with her

Tara:

Tara’s height and natural physicality would serve her well in prison. She’s also got a very good intimidating stare. People would be afraid to start with her. She’d also immediately begin working out in the yard, showing how very bad an idea it would be to mess with her

Kate:

Kate wouldn’t have a good time in prison. Her heart is too big. She’s definitely end up in a big sister position for some of the younger inmates and would likely often get into conflicts with the guards for being too rough

Ashley:

Ashley would walk into prison with cred. She would be unbothered but her volatile temper would only get worse

Elle:

Elle would not have to fight to get respect. She exudes this do-not-fuck-with-me energy that promises that she can be scary if pushed. She also wouldn’t be afraid of anything and calm under pressure. If someone did mess with her, her vengeance would be swift and untraceable

Jordan:

Jordan would get into a lot of fights in prison. She would win, but she’d get into a lot of fights and she’d fight dirty. Eventually she’d become a lieutenant in a girl gang

Alex:

Alex couldn’t be messed with because she’s too unbothered. She wouldn’t get involved in any arguments or rise to provocation, just dismiss it all with a cutting word. Her age would grant her respect as well.

Derek:

Derek would survive prison but he’d be quite traumatized by his experiences. He’d be stoic on the outside and horrified on the inside. He’d try his hardest to not join a gang, probably inventing some sort of reason why he couldn’t. Like Kate he’d get thrown in solitary for fighting with the guards over abuse of power and that’s when he’d silently cry over everything he’s seen

Stephen:

Stephen would be very chill about the whole thing. He has such kind vibes that as long as he stayed in his lane he wouldn’t be messed with, the type to form genuine friendships on the inside.

Luke:

Like Stephen, Luke would get along with people easily. He’d only become angry if directly provoked. Lots of posturing, not a ton of real physical follow through although Luke certainly could if he wanted to

Hotch:

Hotch has the strongest case of don’t-fuck-with-me face that I’ve ever seen. So he’d be fine, so long as he didn’t let anyone find out he was an fbi agent or a father. I think the former would be harder to hide and also more dangerous to reveal.

Dave:

Dave would have a leg up because of the stereotype surrounding older Italian men in prison. He’s just gotta be part of the mafia right? As a storyteller and a profiler, Dave would be able to weave just enough truth into his stories to make himself seem very intimidating and impressive. As long as the ruse holds up, and it would hold up to most scrutiny, he’d be just fine, if a bit lonely

Matt:

Matt would kick ass in prison but he wouldn’t have to very often. His arms alone would deter most attackers unless they were a group. Even then, they might make it out alive but not unscathed

Spencer:

Frankly the way they portrayed Spencer felt pretty in character to me, but that could just be confirmation bias talking. I am amazed that Spencer never came up with the idea of escape, I feel like he’d turn to that before other crimes like drug running. I also expected him to make up an entirely different identity for himself rather than slowly just become a bit darker

Would love to hear people’s thoughts, but not looking to start an argument

#cm #criminal minds #criminal minds meta #criminal minds hcs

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vole-mon-amour · 2 years

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6x18.

There is so much to unpack in here. First of all, imagine having a picture of your delighted boss as his contact pic on your phone. We all know they're friends, but Aaron is still their boss, the leader of the team. Unironically having such a picture on your phone & always being happy to see him speaks volumes. Having such close relationships at work is goals.

Second of all, the entire team recognizing that they are Emily's family. All of them (and David gesturing at himself at "She run to protect us", accepting his role in Emily's life without a blink of an eye. Yes, he's been working with Emily for years, but he joined the team after she was already there, and he still adopted her as a part of his own). However, Spencer (that barely has any close relationships (aside from Derek) and has troubles talking openly about his feelings) recognizing it makes it so much more special. Him straight up going, "This doesn't make any sense. We're her family. We can help." All of that after he opened up to her about his headaches. That kid really does trust her & recognizes her as a part of his people.

Third of all, they keep teaching me that if something wasn't said out loud, it doesn't mean it passed unnoticed. The way Rossi verbally explains about Emily's distancing, her secrets, just not being her usual self reminds me, once again, how good of a profiler he (and the team) is. That's why he went, "You know, you haven't been on vacation for a while. Think about it." He didn't want to invade her personal space and problems (because, if she was ready to talk about it, she would), but he did want to help. Most of the team going silent with her because that's how it works. Hotch asking her only once, "Are you okay?" after she was late for, like, third time in a week & leaving her alone after she dismissed him. It's how he treated Spencer after Hankel, too. It's how he recognizes his team's problems, but mostly chooses to stay out of their way because he believes in them and their ability to talk if they ever need to. That also makes me think of that time when Strauss wanted to fire Aaron, and Aaron went with a full speech on how actually good he understands every single one of them and how hard this job is, and how they all cope in a different manner.

It's only Derek that couldn't keep quiet during that month (and Spencer, at the very end) because he is that kind of person. Because if no one is going to try to do something about that, he will.

This plot-line with Emily & how her team reacts to her behavior is everything.

I usually don't mind spoilers, but I absolutely can agree that going in blindly has its perks with this show (and I don't want to know anything past where I am now). The way I cheered and sobbed like a fool after seeing her coming back. Aaron's little smile. Spencer starting smiling, too. Talking ahead, I couldn't believe she was talking, moving, and actually working with the team. I missed her so much. Seaver's lack of expression is understandable, but she couldn't replace neither JJ and/or Emily even if she wanted to. She can't possibly understand how much they mean to the team (and, frankly, the show and the fans). I am so excited and can't wait for the end of s6 when they both come back. <3

The way Derek was throwing a tantrum & David didn't take the bait even once. He was just a tired experienced old man that was so Done with this kid. I appreciate that about him. I appreciate him accepting people for who they are (and I'm mostly talking about Emily, 'cause he recognized that if she did something, it was for a reason, and a valuable one at that) & working with that.

I can't shut up about Aaron listening to Dave's opinions closely & you can't make me. The partnership is so strong with these two.

The humor in this show. <3

Once again, Derek throwing tantrums (tbh, i'd say he's being kind of a jerk here. Is she your friend or a stranger? It's understandable but I think she deserves a better credit.) David being "Emily is doing the best she can to stay alive, good for her!" And, most importantly, Aaron backing him up on that. "As illegal as it it, Doyle is ruthless & she should act like him."

The tears in Aaron's eyes & him being genuinely so worried for Emily. Characters that don't show any emotions but then something happens to their loved ones & they do >>>>>

These two exchanging pleasantries, too. "Emily said you were the best. I'm unimpressed. <…> If I'm the sociopath, I can't feel any empathy, correct?" — "You're not the sociopath. Doyle is. I though you were a better profiler." & him, finally, being impressed. Aaron rightfully earned his place in BAU and his role as a leader of the team.

The crossover I didn't expect to see, but I'm glad I got it.

#cm #natiswatching #derek morgan #emily prentiss #david rossi #spencer reid #aaron hotchner #meta #hossi #penelope garcia

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