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halamet-chalamet · 10 months

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Helloo!!! I saw you do the mgg/dpencer reid ship, and said Why not give it a go?

I am 5'3, short fluffy brunette hair kind of gal. My friends tell me my eyes are the "dead eye" shape. They are the color Green Tail btw.

I wouldn't say I am skinny, but I am in the middle, curvy maybe, but not skinny or mid-size.

I am an extrovert, always seeking for adventure and making new friends. I am loud and energetic most of the time. I can be very dramatic, but also fairly realistic. I am like the mom friend, always talking for others and taking care. I am sarcastic and try to put humor in things. Its just how I cope. I also have anxiety, but it is not that bad now, it used to eat me alive, but now it only catches me when there is something very stressful.

My hobbies are drawing and painting. Gifted child moment here. I also play the guitar and sing. Reading is also something I like to do.

But fairly, i HATE maths and physics, also the heat.

I adore animals, I havw a big ol cat myself. I like the rain, binge warching shows and definitely sleeping..

My mom would call my style sometimes boyish and sometimes classy. I love wearing baggy clothes but I also love wearing tight clothes. Bright colors ans mute colors..

Thats all ig, I hope you have a nice day and I send you all my ❤️

Thank you for sending me all your ❤️ I’m having a nice day :) you sound awesome by the way! I’m going to do you and Spence <3

Alright sis

You gotta drag Spence a little bit out of his comfort zone to do some adventurous things with you

Let’s be fair he is in the FBI and loves the adrenaline rush

But he’s also always on the lookout being really cautious

So you gotta help him be a tad more carefree to go on adventures with you!!!

When you and Spencer get together Morgan starts calling you both mom and dad

It’s clear you’re the mom friend which just makes Spencer honorary dad friend (besides Hotch ofc ofc)

It takes Spence a little while to get used to your sarcasm but he does eventually and you guys can go back and forth forever!

Especially after all our boys trauma he needs some coping humor

He’s so proud of you for overcoming some of your anxiety

You guys can help each other!

When you’re overly stressed he’ll do a great job of calming you and your anxieties down

And it goes the other way around

You sound super caring so I’m sure you would provide great comfort for Spence after a bad case or seeing/ thinking of his parents.

Art datessssss

He wants to paint with you

Man’s wants to draw with you

He’s better at drawing because his line work is really good :)

Wants to hear you sing and play guitar!!

Gives you books he wants you to read! And loves to see your monthly book picks!

Let’s be honest here

He doesn’t understand your hate for math

“It’s vital to our very existence!” Is what he likes to tell you when you complain about math (because math sucks)

He for real hits you with random math facts at some point just to see you get slightly annoyed. He thinks it’s cute

I stand by this next statement no matter what

SPENCER LOVES CATS

He is a cat person

Looooves them

He loves your cat!! And tries to pick it up and gives you cute cat facts! *cue awwww track*

Spencer will almost never pick a show unless it’s Star Trek or Dr Who

So he sits and binges with you whatever show you’re watching at the moment

He also analyzes the characters and can predict what’s going to happen sooo easy

But he doesn’t spoil it if you don’t want him to

He’s down for your eclectic fashion

And honestly always gets a little excited to see what you’re wearing this time

Sometimes he even tries to find an outfit to match the colors you’re wearing that day

Cute couples stuff I hope you enjoy <33 you sound like a fun person!!

#mathew gray gubler ships #mgg ships #spencer reid #criminal minds #mathew gray gubler #mgg fanfiction #spencerreid #send requests!#spencer reid x reader #mathew gray gubler x reader #criminal minds headcanons #anabelle’s thoughts

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velvetwilde · 6 days

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Lately I've been thinking about them a lot, They both deserved so much better :(

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cumulo-stratus · 13 days

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Embrace[s.r]

spencer doesnt feel like hes anything more than his intelligence, but ethan proves him wrong.

WARNINGS- angst, internalized homophobia, self esteem issues, crying, mentions of mommy issues

college au!Ethan x college au!spencer reid ][ hurt/comfort ][ masterlist!!

a/n- ok this is actually my first ship fic and im so excited!! i've been obsessed with Ethan x spencer ever since i started writing this! hope y'all enjoy reading as much as i enjoyed writing <3

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there was a soft breeze drifting through the window ruffling the non-existent curtains that no college student was going to spend their little money on. Instead there were some cheap shades provided by the university.

Ethan never minded his small means, his small dorm with a small bed despite being in his junior year. The bed was big enough to fit him and Spencer and that's all he cared about.

but tonight, in the dark room they weren't sitting on top together- no Spencer was hunched over himself his body wracking sob after sob, and ethan’s arms wrapped around him. they left comforting circles on his back, and squeezed spencer tightly against his chest.

the darkened room left both boys faces wailed by shadows, hiding spencers tear track stained cheeks from his best friend.

ethan’s hushed voice was deafening over the silence of the tiny dorm room. He whispered quiet small nothings into spencers ear.

spencers cheek was smushed into his best friends shoulder, and his face was in ethan’s neck, breathing in the familiar scent of his worn university sweatshirt.

spencers knees were pulled to his chest in a self soothing motion, and ethan’s arm wrapped around the ball of spencer in his lap. Spencer also had his arms wrapped tightly around ethan’s waist, white knuckle gripping the back of his sweatshirt.

spencer had never felt worth more than when he was with Ethan. Ethan saw him for more than a 187 IQ or a multiple degree nerd. To Ethan, spencer was a man who had humor, deep empathy, and so so much love to give.

And it was nights like these were sometimes spencer needed a little help remembering that.

after all, thats what best friends are for right?

by two am, spencers body didn’t have any more tears to cry. He was a tired cookie sinking into his best friend’s arms.

“i, im sorry,”

spencer sounded hesitant, voice still shaky and throat still frogged. Ethan only chuckled lightly to himself, causing spencers eyebrows to knit together slightly and his head to perk up from its place on the other boys shoulder at the sound.

“spencer you've nothin to be sorry for” ethan’s soothing drawl lulled spencers worries along with the bashful smile he held for the idiotic genius in front of him.

this caused a small smile to crawl its way onto spencers lips and a blush on his cheeks.

“everyone needs a lil’ reassurance sometimes- even geniuses like you spence,”

spence. only Ethan called him spence. spencer liked when ethan called him that. the only other person who had a nickname for him was his mother, and thats a whole other can of worms filled with mommy issues we dont have time for.

these reassuring words caused the aforementioned smile to grow on his lips a centimeter or two. Spencer had now raised his head to look directly at Ethan. Their faces were so close, they could feel each others breath warming the others’ lips.

Ethan couldn't help but let his eyes drift downwards to spencer’s pink lips, the moment getting the better of him. the young genius was too busy staring into ethan’s beautiful deep brown eyes.

the bearded man tentatively lifted a hand to spencers cheek. he cupped it gently, his thumb rubbing away the tear tracks littering spencers soft cheeks. Ethan could feel the heat rising to his already warm cheeks.

this caused spencer to smile a bit, his eyes crinkling slightly from joy and bashfulness. they reminded themselves of school girls, blushing and grinning for eachother.

Ethan leaned in closer without actually touching spencers face with his, if that was possible. though it was spencer who took the final leap to close the gap.

Spencers lips felt exactly how Ethan had imagined them for months, the kiss feeling electric as they danced. Ethan had been pining for his best friend for months, but this whole experience was new for spencer. He had never really kissed anyone, and he had never really imagined it being with a man. but it felt right. like so many things had just clicked into place and spencer felt at peace in ethan’s arms

finally pulling away air, they both grinned big bashful smiles at each other. “that was nice, i like doing that. i like kissing you.” Spencer the ever logical man of science stated them as facts, though the hearts in his eyes were far from logical.

“can i kiss you again?” Ethan phrased it more like a statement than a question, but the offer still stood. instead of a response, Ethan got a kiss, which i guess one could say is a response. this time neither was caught off guard, and they could enjoy it more.

spencer felt fireworks behind his eyes to say the least.

when the pair reluctantly pulled away for air again, Ethan couldn't help but stare into spencer blown, honey brown pupils. Thais caused spencer to blush, a warmth creeping up his cheeks, blending with the buzzing lingering on his lips left by ethan’s own lips.

“i like you, ethan, like a lot”

ethan chuckled a bit, not at spencers admittance, but at the fact he fel the need to say it. “oh really spence, we practically just made out. but for the record i like you to, like a lot” Ethan had a warm smile fas as he spoke, looking down at spencer, who was still resting the side of his head against ethan’s shoulder.

spencer blushed a little when Ethan called him out, but knew he only meant it lovingly. though lovingly was the only way ethan ever spoke to spencer.

Even before spencer collapsed into his arms crying when he came over to vent about classwork, even before Ethan comforted him with no hesitation, and even before they practically made out. which was why Ethan felt the need to support

“hey spence?”

“ya?”

“you know it’s okay that you kissed a guy, ive known i was into guys since freshman year, its okay.”

spencer looked down, fiddling with his fingers like he always did. Ethan took the opportunity to take spencers hands in his. “hey, honey, look at me, it’s okay.” spencer darted his eyes up to Ethan’s and he said with an obvious frog in his throat “its okay that I kissed you, its okay that im in love with you.”

ethan’s smile was warm at spencer’s words, and he placed a peck on his cheek. “thank you handsome, thats all i wanted to hear.” spencer was even more blushy at the pet name, leaning farther into ethan’s shoulder in the hopes of obscuring his face in the other boys sweater.

“you know if your in love with me, then i think that means we should be boyfriends, right?” Ethan had a playful tone, but the questions till stood.

“i think so too, boyfriend.” spencer spoke joyfully, a smile on his face as he placed one last kiss on his now boyfriends lips.

without any other words said the new couple laid down together. spencer laid with his back resting against his boyfriends chest as he curled in on himself.

Ethan took the opportunity as the big spoon to rest in face in spencers hair, the smell of his hair gel bringing comfort.

Spencer fell asleep to the sound of ethan’s breathing and the feeling of his boyfriend’s warmth against their skin. He felt like more than enough in ethan’s arms, in ethan’s embrace.

The End

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qwiias · 3 months

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He could stab me with that axe 1000 times and id thank him while in the grave🥰🥰

#mgg #criminal minds #matthew grey gubler #matthew gray gubler #cm #dr spencer reid #spencer reid #live laught love spencer reid #spencer reid pictures #spencer reid photos #mgg pics #mgg photos #mgg images #i love hashtags💗#if you couldnt tell obviously #hotchreid #moried #random ass ships are added for fun🙏

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iluvreid · 3 months

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This could be a really dumb question but what is the friendship ship name for Spencer and Penelope? Pencer? Spenelope? Gareid? I have no clue

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skullimangoarts · 14 days

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MGG Dislikes Scratch and her antics

MGG and Scratch by me

The Glorious image I used as reference for the pose is from Unus Annus

#art #artwork #2024 #oc #oc art #gradient oc #shipping gradient #mgg #MsPaint Golden Gradient #Scratch #regretevator oc #regretevator #regretevator gradient oc #gradient #meme #yellow post it note

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wrenreid · 2 years

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Conflict of Interest

mature content discussed in this story… all chapter in masterlist

Chapter Twenty: Out With It

Nina’s words replay in your head like an echo or a verse of a song that’s stuck in your mind and you can’t stop annoying yourself by singing it over and over again.

“And if he doesn’t?”

And if he doesn’t reject you and tell you your relationship has and always will be purely physical- purely friends with benefits and no strings attached, and all that bullshit that never works out in the books? What if he doesn’t turn down your feelings, but rather reciprocates them?

You suppose you haven’t quite considered that possibility. Well, it’s crossed your mind, but more so in a way in which you think it, then you tell yourself you’re crazy and need to slow your roll.

These thoughts have been going through your head all morning like an annoying snapchat video you can’t click out of.

You texted him back last night, responding with an optimistic and not at all nervous: “For sure, I’ll see you at 6!”

After sending it, you felt pretty good and empowered, then a total of 13 minutes and 27 seconds later, you wanted to throw up and unsend it. In that order. But unfortunately for you, Spencer had already responded with a cute “Looking forward to it!”

Nina, both annoyed and worried that you’re sitting in bed practically chewing your lips and nails off, drags you to lunch in the cafeteria downstairs. You sit with your friends and enjoy spending time with them for the first time in a while. It’s actually nice to not think about Spencer and this incredibly frustrating situation.

Being so nervous to tell a guy you have feelings for him reminds you of your school days. You weren’t necessarily a shy person, but admitting to a guy or girl that you like them was always difficult. So many gone-wrong scenarios played in your head that made you choke up or stutter.

But since you’re nearly 26 years old, you remind yourself to buck up and just fucking come out with it.

After lunch, Nina occupies your time with movies and gossip about her family she learned and or saw during the holidays. Their efforts of distracting you do not go unnoticed. You’re grateful to have a roommate/ best friend like her.

Eventually, it’s time to start getting ready. You head to the showers, missing having the nice bathroom from your childhood to use.

Once you’re back in your room, you get dressed in your favorite jeans and an oversized light blue sweater. You pull your hair back into two somewhat loose pigtails and put on a little bit of makeup. You pull on your boots then head out the door at 5:45, talking a deep breath.

Looking out the window of the cab, you can’t help but imagine either way this may go. And how both ways will ultimately change the relationship between you.

If Spencer does not feel the same, then you’ll have to stop seeing him; that would be the only choice fair to yourself. Class would be awkward as hell and maybe even hard to get through some days.

If he does reciprocate your feelings, then you’ll have to decide whether or not to make that extra step in the relationship. And being your professor’s girlfriend has to be difficult. You’d still have to keep things a secret.

A part of you feels like either outcome this situation will have could end poorly.

The cab driver pulls into Spencer’s apartment parking lot, and parks. You pay him the fee, then get out and take the elevator to his floor. When it lands, the stomach drop feeling comes from nothing the elevator stopping and the fact that you’re actually doing this.

You knock three times and wait the short amount of time it takes Spencer to open the door.

“Hey,” he smiles to you, opening the door wider so you can go in. “I almost thought you were going to stand me up, you haven’t texted me all day.”

“Oh shit, yeah. I’m so sorry, Nina was distracting me all day and we were catching up some more.”

“No worries,” he says softly. “You’re here now.”

“That I am,” you rub your hands together with nerves and follow him as he leads you to the couch.

“How was your break?”

“It was good,” you say honestly. “It was nice to be with my family again. Though my mother did not come.”

“Really?” He says with a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Y/n.”

“It’s okay. I think it was for the best.”

He nods.

“How was that party your friend took you to?” You ask before you can even think it through. What if he says he met someone?

“It wasn’t half bad actually,” he tells you. “Normally I hate parties or really any event where there’s a ton of people I don’t know, but it wasn’t awful.”

You nod. “I’m glad you could enjoy yourself even if it was just a little.”

He smiles softly. “What about yours?”

You completely forgot until now that you told him you were going to a party. Which you were totally lying about but ended up actually going to one. You can tell your cheeks are burning red. “Yeah, it was nice.”

“Nice?” He questions.

“Okay, it was good until it was kind of awkward. I got a little tipsy then made out with my brother’s old best friend.”

“Oh,” Spencer says.

Oh? What does “oh” mean?

“It didn’t mean anything though,” you say quickly.

“Hey, I mean you can kiss whoever you want. It’s not like we’re dating.”

That sentence hits you like a baseball bat to the gut.

“Right. We’re not dating. And you’ve made it abundantly clear we never will.” You say, turning away from him.

“What?”

You stay silent, still not looking at him.

“We both agreed that this would just be some stupid risk we’re taking-”

“So now it’ stupid?”

“Yeah, Y/n. It is stupid! The whole no strings attached friends with benefits thing is stupid!”

“Well sorry, Doctor, I thought we were enjoying this!”

“I thought we were too. But apparently you’re angry about your own rules.”

“I’m angry because I broke my own rule!”

“What?” He furrows his eyebrows.

This is not how you intended to tell him. You sigh, bouncing your leg. “The most basic rule of this type of relationship is don’t fall for the other person… I broke that.”

His face changes. His eyebrows relax a little and his eyes widen a bit. Spencer’s cheeks turn a bright shade of pink. “Wait… really?”

“Yeah,” you breathe out softly, looking down at the carpet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen, and I definitely didn’t intend to tell you like this. I don’t want to be mad at each other.”

Spencer’s hand cups your cheek gently, forcing you to look at him. He starts to say something, but leans in and presses his lips to yours instead. It’s soft, but passionate.

You relax against him entirely, despite your brain telling you to pull away; you still don’t know how he feels. Your hand rests on his knee.

After a moment, he pulls away, lips swollen. “I’m not mad at you.”

“Really that’s all you have to say?” You say with an almost laugh.

“I’m not really good at saying how I feel, but I’ll try for you. I didn’t want this to just be a casual, no strings attached relationship. I do think those are stupid and hardly work out, especially not for people like us. I agreed because I wanted to get close to you, and I thought that was all you wanted. But I stumbled and fell for you harder along the road. Like the type of fall where you hit your head on gravel, and you’ve got scraped knees and elbows, and everything hurts afterwards.”

You chuckle softly, feeling your heart in your throat. You feel like crying, but you choke it down. “So what now?”

“I just poured my heart out to you, and you ask ‘What now?’” Spencer laughs softly.

“Hey, all you said was that you weren’t mad.”

“Touché, well deserved.”

“But seriously, what do we do now? Do we move on with our lives or-?”

“What? No, of course not!” He says, cutting you off. “I want a real relationship… if you want that too.”

“I do,” you smile softly. “But don’t you think that it’ll make things weird?”

“Things have been weird for months, Y/n.”

You nod, chuckling softly once again. “You’re not wrong there.”

“I’m never wrong.”

“Whatever, genius,” you roll your eyes.

He smiles, bumping your shoulder playfully. “Will you be my girlfriend? Officially.”

“I don’t know,” you tease. “That’s a hard decision.”

“Okay, go home.”

“I’m kidding! Yes, yes I will be your girlfriend.” You grin up at him.

He smiles down at you, kissing you again. “You’re something else.”

“You like it,” you scrunch your nose at him cheekily.

“I suppose.”

You roll your eyes then pull him into you. Your lips find each other’s again, and your hands lock behind his neck. Spencer’s hand trail down to your thigh as he leans you back into the couch. Your tongues graze against each other’s roughly.

Spencer pulls away, drawing out a soft whine from you. “I don’t want to have sex.”

“Oh,” you say. “Okay.”

“Well, I mean it’s not that I don’t want to, but that’s how our last relationship started, and we’re having a clean slate. So tonight could just be I don’t know… am I making sense?”

“You’re making sense,” you assure him, twirling the hair against his neck in your fingers. “I agree.”

“Good,” he smiles. “Good, okay. Um how would you like dinner?”

“Are you cooking?” You wiggle your eyebrows.

“I was thinking takeout, but I can cook for you later this week.”

You sigh, pouting. “I guess that’s fine.”

“Yeah, you guess?” He chuckles, and his smile makes your guts melt all over the couch.

After dinner, the two of you lay in his bed, fingers interlocked as you talk about winter break, the academy, and the BAU.

Earlier your mind was racing about the two different outcomes this night could’ve had. You were worried that either one would’ve ended poorly. But now, laying in this bed next to the guy you’re falling in love with, you can’t possibly imagine how this could go wrong. He’s perfect, this is perfect.

chapter twenty one

tags: @reidsmilf @reidslovely @awhoreforspencerreid @sexualityisajoke @nomajdetective @kenreadsfanfics @calicocatty @hotchandspencearedilfs @kodiakwhiskey @rory-cakes @kbakery @reidsprettygirl @444verse <3

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iasikaijutopia · 2 years

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Boyfriends sharing ties💕

#greg knox #spencer reid #criminal minds #power starz #andy bean #mgg #matthew gray gubler #gay #mlm #ship #boyfriends #cm x power #criminal minds x power #spreg #Spencer reid x greg knox #Reid x Greg #Reid x Knox

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dreamypanda · 2 months

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everytime mgg goes to california i have a breakdown and get my hopes up. is it too much to ask for him to be in evolution?? (not to be in a jeid ship tho💀

#criminal minds #spencer reid #matthew gray gubler #mgg #criminal minds evolution

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halamet-chalamet · 11 months

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Hi! I saw your headconnon post about Spencer Reid and I wanted to give it a try!

I'm ,30 years old female. I have short curly black hair . olive skin with a lot freckles / birthmarks, and green eyes. I'm covered in tattoos and I have my nose and lip pierced. My personal style is a mix between rockabilly and grunge. I'm very short, 4'10" and I'm a size 6 in jeans/dresses I'm petite but I do have some curves. My personality type is ESFJ, Enneagram personality type 6, Virgo Sun and Pisces Moon.

I'm very very insecure about myself. My voice my body my intelligence (I'm dyslexic) you name it

I'm a middle school science teacher, I honestly love my job even though it is really hard sometimes and it makes me cry lol

I'm Sassy, sarcastic but genuine and sweet. I have a dry sense of humor but I absolutely love puns. I'm Hardworking but also a procrastinator. I'm a kid at heart, definitely more crafty then artistic I don't like that I do not have much of back bone at times, I try to avoid conflict like it's the plague so I tend to indifferent a lot of the time too.

I'm a non judgmental person and a good listener. I have ADHD so I would lose my own head that wasn't attached to my body, so I have a lot of planers and sticky notes everywhere. I love having fun with my friends. Exploring new cafes or little things in our city. I love going to a local coffee shop on rainy nights and setting with a book and coffee, black coffee I don't like any cream.or sugar. I love the look of city lights at night. Not much of an outdoor person is endless unless it is for a concert.

I love any age or genre of rock music, I scare very easily but I love horror movies. I'm really nerdy, I love playing D&D with my friends, reading, anime, doctor who ect ect.I collect mugs. I probably have over a 120 at this point. My 15lb pekingese dog is my baby. An odd hoppy of mine is I take only liquor and wine bottles use them as vases for flower bouquets I make

How come all of you guys sound so cool bruh???

Where do I begin?

You guys have so much in common but are still such different people

Binge watching doctor who together for SURE

Speaking of remembering things, he’s so understanding about your ADHD

His eidetic memory comes in super handy! He reads your sticky notes and is your own personal calendar!!

Coffee. Dates

This boy loves his coffee

We KNOW he loves his coffee

Home coffee dates. Favorite cafe coffee dates. New cafe coffee dates

He def needs someone as non judgmental as you in his life .

Poor boy has so much trauma he needs to get out of him and having you to actively listen and care for him when he needs it is so foreign but absolutely needed.

Spence is always wondering how your day went. He wants to know alll about what happened at school.

And is there when you need to cry :(((

I think we can kind of tell that he’s not very outdoorsy

So you guys stay in a lot or go out to do things indoors.

You introduce him to a lot of new music!!!

Idk if you like Muse but I feel like it’s the perfect blend of hard rock and classical and would be spectacular for you both.

You’re the edgy he needs bro I’m not lying.

You’re still nerdy and compatible with him but you certainly have more edge and it gets him out of his comfort zones in the best way!

He pretends he’s gonna steal your dog 💀

And says it’s his son/ daughter (sorry idk what gender your dog is but it sounds cute)

What if he visited your class one time and helped you with a lesson to the kids???

That would be adorrrrrable

Anyway

Okay dnd with this boi

He gets so serious about the story lines bro

Okay you guys so rarely fight because you both hate conflict

If there is something one of you needs to bring up it’s not in an angry or accusing manner at all because neither of you like that.

Spencer is so good to you when you’re insecure.

He often times feels similar so he knows how to handle it really well.

He doesn’t overwhelm you or get upset at you but cares for you and let’s you know how he sees you. 🥰🥰🥰

#I hope you like it!!!#keep requests comin #you seem so cool!#mathew gray gubler #Spencer Reid ships #criminal minds #spencer reid #mgg ships #mgg fanfiction #spencerreid #criminal minds headcanons

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daddy-dotcom · 3 months

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no disrespect to aubrey plaza’s husband but omg I ship her and mgg so bad esp after those new years pics

#matthew gray gubler #mgg #aubrey plaza #criminal minds #spencer reid #dr spencer reid #cat adams

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reiderwriter · 7 months

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Hello!!If you were part of the writers on criminal minds,what would you have done differently when it came to the romantic relationships of it all and whats your opinion on some of the ships?Which would you erase and which are your favorites?I'm willing to read as much details and analysis you are willing to give on this lmao😂I loved the analysis on Reids sexual evolution season by season and am really curious on what you think on the ships like Reid and JJ,Reid Lila,Reid and Maeve,Reid and Elle😂Personally I would have created a diffrent character as a love interest for him all together.

This is practically an essay so I'm just going to apologise in advance of this. I'm not going to say I'd change much because the end product we got is my favorite show for a reason but yes, here is me talking about all the romantic relationships I can think of in CM and my opinions on them!

(Spoilers for season 1-15 of CM, CME, and season 8 of NCIS - yeah that's how long this post is).

Reid Ships

I think Reid ships are the ones most people have issues with in Criminal Minds so I'm going to start here with personal headcanons and my personal highlights. It's going to become clear that my biggest pet peeve in CM is when the writers want to give the characters a love interest and then just gender-bend their personalities, so let's start with Maeve and Spencer.

I've already talked at length in other posts about how I think the Maeve/ Zugzwang plotline wasn't my favorite. It was some amazing acting from MGG and Beth Reisgraf, but personally, I think it suffered from "serialized cop drama" plot line status. This show airs week after week with another case to solve in 45 minutes and they don't have the time or the format to pause through moments that in a standard drama would be very impactful.

To go on a slight tangent, that is partially why the relationships between the main cast are usually the only ones developed very well over extended arcs (I'll return to this when I talk about Jeid).

So, when you're trying to have an emotionally resonant moment, and you only have a handful of cold opens and one full episode to do it, you're going to have to make the characters motivations, personalities and back stories mesh in a way that makes you think: "holy shit they're perfect together."

Maeve and Spencer aren't that. I hate to use this term, but Maeve is like a manic pixie dream girl for Spencer? She's written as if she's too good to be true, which is why we're supposed to feel so sad when she dies. But they also tried to make her a complex character and didn't have the time to really do it, which is why we're given a back story that makes no fucking sense (as Spencer's DOCTOR no less) and some hints that she probably doesn't feel the same way as Spencer does for her (fiancé she never told him about etc.)

When Spencer's character starts evolving in later seasons to being more than just a genius, but a genius with trauma, they pull a similar stunt with Cat Adams/ Max

The show runner Erica Messer did mention that the Maeve plotline was always designed to be a three act plot: she's introduced, Spencer is in love with her, she dies. But, in my opinion, we didn't get enough of an introduction to her for me to feel really all that bad about it? They banked a lot on the audiences attachment to Reid, so when you feel bad about Maeve's death it's all about Reid - why do bad things keep happening to HIM, I wonder how HE will get through it - when she is the one who was just murdered. Those kind of dynamics always kind of throw me in romantic relationships.

I'm going to be clear, I do not ship Cat Adams and Reid either and I have pretty much no opinion on Max other than that if she were real I'd probably avoid her (teachers who hate teaching and blame the kids are weird! And I'm a teacher so I can say that I think lol).

Cat Adams is girl-Reid if he had a villain arc. She's 100% again there to push Reid's character development, and she's used as an action rather than a character. Max is the same. In season 15, with the entire team at a crossroads, they have to allow Reid two outs: one villain arc where he gives into his lust for Cat Adams, and one happy ending where he gets to start something with someone who is totally normal and a way out of the BAU the way Savannah was for Morgan. But it can't be as easy for Reid, and that's why we're left with the Cat/Max dilemma because he is really attracted to Cat, despite the fact that she was threatening to end the lives of members of Max's family.

By the end of the show, Reid had been actively on the team the most out of all the cast members (bar Penelope, but she wasn't out on cases first hand, so there's not as much emotional baggage there for her). He can't have an easy exit, so I kind of view this "love triangle" bullshit as a metaphor for Spencer choosing a normal life vs a continuation with the BAU.

Which is why I think that if CME continues, I think we're unlikely to see or hear from Max, because that means he's picked the BAU.

Okay now, not to sound like a broken record but, Jeid:

Before Truth or Dare, there is one single suggestion of Jeid being a possibility and it's a suggestion, from Gideon of all people, in season 1. It is CRAZY to me that after thirteen seasons they just decided to develop that one plotline again because jesus CHRIST.

My main problem with Jeid is that, actually, I think it had a lot of potential. Like I said, serialized dramas only have time to develop relationships between their main cast members, which is why we end up with a pseudo-found-family vibe no matter who happens to be on the team at any given point. A lot of similar dramas go down the route of coworker/ team mate relationships (think Ziva and DiNozzo in NCIS or Mulder and Scully in The X Files).

There was absolutely the potential for an opposites attract relationship with Jeid, but I think the minute they abandoned that after that small dialogue we got something WAY FUCKING BETTER. Their friendship is entirely underrated, Spencer regularly babysits her kid, she comforts him after Emily "dies," enough for them to have arguments about it after the fact. Your honor they are SIBLINGS. That is UNCLE SPENCER. Not your future step-dad.

When they decided to commit to JJ and Will, they should've stuck to it, and as a big fan of the Season 7 finale + Hit and Run it is very shitty seeing them trying to retcon both of these characters amazing developments and growth over 14 seasons and have them regress to shit tier versions of their Season 1 selves.

"But Kacie, there must be some Spencer relationships you like," I hear you ask. And there ARE:

Lila Archer is a great foil for Spencer. She has a happy, glamorous life until their paths cross, and then we can assume from dialogue in season 6 that she continues having a pretty fucking glamorous life after everything goes down. I don't think Spencer works best with characters that are traumatised or overly smart the way he is, because he needs something to return to after the cases that switch off that part of him, to help him forget the horrifying shit he sees on the job.

So Lila Archer was kind of a great love interest.

Another one that I'm so annoyed they didn't explore more is Austin. She's the bartender in the Season 4 Episode "52 Pickup" that is charmed by Spencer's card tricks. She is never mentioned again, but they had a great chemistry, she was quick on her feet and managed to spot the unsub first, and she was a really great foil for Spencer as well; it was a street smarts/ book smarts kind of dynamic. If they'd carried that character forward and had her reappear a few times, it could've been a great romantic plot.

I will just quickly note that the reason we most likely didn't see many romantic plots for Reid was because Matthew Gray Gubler didn't like the idea of giving him a romantic plotline, stating that there were so many more interesting things to do with the character - and he's right!

I'm a fanfiction writer, and the allure of characters like Spencer Reid is they are mostly romantic clean slates - you can write whatever you want for them within reason without having to disregard canon relationships. This is why similarly, Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Venom, and young "Marauders" fanfictions are pretty popular here imo too - canon compliance isn't disregarded, the reader is just written in. So I don't think I'd change a thing for Spencer to be honest (apart from maybe not kill Maeve off and give her the actual villain arc, but I say that so regularly I'm beginning to sound like a broken record).

Also I'll just quickly mention Elle because you mentioned her - outside of fanfiction there are literally zero hints (imo) of a thing between Elle and Reid lmao there's more of a case to be made for Elle and Morgan, but for some reason, writers and fans alike don't like committing to giving Morgan more than simply platonic connections. THEY SHOULD!! THE MAN IS SEXY AS HELL!!!!!!! GIVE ME A MORGAN WHO IS REGULARLY FUCKING!

Hotchner Ships

Speaking of characters that have a long time where they are single! Aaron Hotchner is another fandom favorite to write self-insert fanfiction for, because of the gap between Haley Hotchner's death in 100, and the introduction of Beth in season 7.

In general, I like the way Hotch's relationships play out on screen. Let's start with Haley:

You can tell that the writers really enjoyed the dynamic between work Hotch and home Hotch, because they played on it so much across the four first seasons. The very first time he is introduced he's in his bedroom picking out baby names with his childhood sweetheart, so any further scenes of him being more stern or serious are always in contrast with that introduction. It's a cold open to his character that immediately let's you know that there is more going on in his world than just the BAU, and he is the only member of the season one team that has that.

Then, they really LOVE taking that shit away from him. I'm not going to go into detail here about how fucking wack the time line is for Criminal Minds, but it is stupid and that's important here because:

I think Haley's reasons for divorcing Hotch are stupid.

She says that she married a man who was a prosecutor, not a man that was an FBI Profiler but realistically by the time of their divorce, he'd been in the BAU like 10 years. They rely more on the audiences sense of time (we're two years in, so they've all been on the team two years etc) to push this character motivation off. And for a while it makes sense that they were separated, until the events of 100. But also: in sickness and in health, for better and for worse, you literally signed up for whatever the FUCK happened, that's what a marriage vow IS.

Now I'm a sucker for the angst of 100,but would it not have felt 10x more emotionally disgusting if Hotch and Haley were talking about reuniting? If they had never celebrated in the first place, and had just finished working through their marital issues when Foyet comes back into their lives and Haley has to be whisked away again? Yes. Yes it would.

There's an episode in season 9 that really pisses me off, and it's the one that Hotch passes out from an old tear in his Foyet stab wounds and he goes into surgery and talks with Haley and Foyet in heaven while watching the rest of his life after the events of 100 on a cinema screen. It's cliché and also has no pay-off because it doesn't change the way he views his relationships after that, and it's not like he's at a crossroads at that point, so it means nothing to the audience except as a remembrance of an issue and an episode so far in the past that it feels like flogging a dead horse. They do this twice, btw, and this is the more successful use of this plot (the first time they do it to Elle in Season 1/2 during the events of The Wicker King - she talks to the father we didn't even know was dead, who died decades ago in an unrelated time. Not to keep bringing NCIS up, but I think the only time I've seen it done well is whenever Gibbs kept seeing Mike Franks in the diner scenes). They do not out enough effort into these plots to achieve the emotional resonance they are aiming for in my personal opinion.

I'm not entirely sure, but I think this could've been the beginning of the era where Gibson was having a lot of issues with the cast, because it just felt like they didn't want to use him in the on-location shoots for a while lmao. Anyway, all that to say, Haley should've stayed dead, and not come back as a stupid phantom.

After the dust has settled on Haley and Hotchner though, we get Hotchner and Beth:

This is going to be a short note, because I actually really like the relationship between these two characters. They have the very slow cold-open build up that Maeve and Spencer get, but there's a lot more and a lot less to Beth's character that makes the dynamic between them really enjoyable to watch.

We're once again treated to the out-of-work Hotchner that had been missing since Season 4 (his in between scenes with Jack are cute but there's always the tragedy hanging over them). Beth is running a marathon in honor of her dad, Hotch is doing something similar for the FBI Triathalon, they train together the tension builds, they start dating. Now obviously it wasn't the purpose or aim of this character introduction to build to tragedy, and I think they just genuinely wanted to show a happy Hotchner again, but its still a valid criticism of the weird voyeuristic Maeve build-up that they literally succeeded a more sympathetic and audience engaging late minor-recurring-character EARLIER THAN THE MAEVE ARC.

I'll shut up now, but yeah, I like Hotch and Beth.

Penelope Ships

This post is getting ridiculously long, so much so that I'm even contemplating adding a fucking word count, but let's continue and dive in to my next issue.

Penelope's romantic life is used as a punch-line for the first 11 seasons and I HATE it.

There is no easy short to say this, but I despise Kevin. He is stupid, and a joke, and I hate him and I am SO HAPPY that she dumped him. They made her really pathetic about him for a few episodes, and then he kept fucking coming back too which was even worse.

Kevin is literally male Garcia but with all the worst attributes. He's clingy, and needy, and he may be smart but in a very "incel" way. In my opinion, Kevin is less a fully fledged character and more a joke line/ convenient plot point for when they need more tech analyst work. The best moment in the Kevin/Penelope arc is during the The Gathering, where she really lays into him and tells him off for being jealous of her ukelele instructor AFTER THEY'D BROKEN UP.

Penelope deserved so much better than what they gave her romantically in these seasons. First, her date tried to kill her, her boyfriend was a joke, etc. She never gets the serious romantic plotline that her other teammates do (Hotch/Haley, Spencer/Maeve, Derek/Savannah, JJ/Will, Emily/being a big old lesbian etc). Penelope is really great levity for the rest of the cast because she is happy and she is positive and she is unapologetic in her positivity. It's annoying that they don't let her be more than that in the romantic relationships they give he during these seasons.

Then Luke Alvez is introduced and there is some hope! Galvez truther's please, rise they are so adorable.

Anyone involved in the writing of CME - what the hell was that? Now I haven't seen it myself, to be completely fair, but I know enough to ask the question - really what the HELL was that?

Tl;dr Penelope's sexuality and romantic relationships should not be used as punchlines.

The Aversion to Homosexuality

This is just a general note, but the writers originally did plan to have Emily Prentiss be gay - amazing, great, it's a completely different time now, please let her have a gay awakening soon. It was obviously scrapped early in, but there's a lot of subtext that can be interpreted in that way.

They did commit with Tara, and she gets a gf in CME, so I want to see some Temily in the future if we do get more CM seasons.

So just so you know, everytime I mention Emily flirting with someone in my fic, assume it's a woman if you aren't already, lmao.

(They did also talk about making Reid bisexual as well, which would've also been great, but again, I don't think we're ever getting any more romantic plotlines from Reid).

Other Characters

Here's just a rating and short mention for all the other character couples I can think of in Criminal Minds, because this is already thesis length lmao:

Morgan + Savannah - 8.5/10, no notes, really just the gender bent love interest but done right.

Alex Blake + Husband - 7/10, solid couple, very much enjoyed when they started bringing in the people in established relationships again lmao.

Kate Callahan + Husband - 5/10, same as above but I wasn't as attached to her character rip.

Matt + Kirsty - 10/10 really no notes, I too would be called a breeder if I managed to lock that man down, damn.

Rossi + His 3 Ex-Wives - Make total sense for his character, very enjoyable to me, love that he has a nice moment with most of them again throughout the series, not going to rate it lol.

Rossi + Strauss - 3.5/10 - Last ditch attempt to make Strauss a sympathetic character, but I felt more attached to her growth after being called out by Derek rather than the effect that her death had on Rossi.

Gideon + the friend of his who is murdered by that Frank guy at the end of season 2 - stupid, worst way to go out, made no sense for the character, but I know Mandy Patinkin wanted OUT and honestly, anything for you Inigo Montoya.

Why I think Criminal Minds is Better Without Romance

Generally, I really do agree with Matthew Gray Gubler when he said that there were more interesting things to explore with these characters than their romantic attachments. It does frustrate me to no end that they focused on some of them more than others, and that post Henry, most of JJ's big moments are tied to motherhood and being a mother/ wife, but that change in her character is still amazing and leads her to a lot of growth (not mentioning Truth or Dare again, sorry it doesn't exist at this point in the post)(also I didn't have much time to mention Will and JJ, but I do love them).

Their best moments are the ones we get of them together as a team, saving people and putting away murderers for life, it's a perfect Found Family!!!

Also, no more romance = Spencer Reid can be mine. In conclusion, I am delusional. Thank you for reading this far.

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