#IN A YEAR I WILL BE OLDER THAN REID IN S1

[sergeantjessi]

today i've rediscovered the fact that spencer reid is 24 (in the first season of criminal minds) and i am NO okay

[reiderwriter]

♡ Girls Just Wanna Have Fun ♡

Week 5 of my Playlist Series ♡

Summary: Spencer isn't used to clubs, but when duty calls, he's made to feel a little bit more welcome by a girl who seems to know him better than a stranger should.

Warnings: Smut 18+ Minors DNI!! Hotchner!Reader (Reader is Hotch's sister), semi-public sex (x2 oops), oral sex (m receiving), fingering, dry humping, hand job, cum play, dirty talk, degradation and name calling (slut only), use of daddy/sir even though this is like solidly season 1 Spencer lmao, corruption kink, loss of virginity (surprisingly the readers)

A/N: Every single intrusive thought I've ever had about s1 Reid tied up in a nice little bow masquerading as a song fic. It is finished, and now I feel flushed. Please expect only fluff from me until my next intrusive thought (maybe half an hour, probably no longer).

Masterlist || Spotify Playlist

Flashing lights and the scent of dried up alcohol stains weren't usually signs of Spencer Reid's presence. He'd managed to get through college - two degrees and three PhDs - without stepping foot into a nightclub. But now that he'd joined the BAU, it seemed to be an unavoidable occurrence. 

“The unsub hunts at this nightclub, I get that, I do. But why am I the one going in? He's targeting women,” he panicked as his older team member helped adjust his clothes to conceal the weapon he carried. 

“Because, pretty boy, it's student night, and you're the only one here who can pass for a 21 year old. I guess late puberty has some benefits.” Derek smacked his arm playfully, leaving the younger man wincing slightly. 

“But I'm not a woman.” 

“Yes, but you'll be able to walk around and note any suspicious behaviour, and then we can tail suspects you flag,” Hotch explained to him again. 

“Just act natural, kid, it's not like it's your first time in a club.” 

“It is.” His warnings fell on deaf ears though, as they pushed him out of the van and into the crowd of students queueing to enter. 

It didn't take you long to notice him after you arrived at the club.

The sweater vest was enough to make him stand apart slightly, as much as he was trying his best to blend in. A slight tingle of familiarity raced up your spine as his eyes awkwardly met yours, his scan of the room stopping short as he flushed and turned his eyes down. 

Pushing slightly to the crowd, you leaned over the counter next to him and tried to get the bartenders attention. It was loud and busy, but catching attention and keeping it was a skill you'd mastered early, a skill that you were thankful for as you realised the man's eyes were guiltily flicking between your ass and the crowd once again. 

“Are you going to stare, or are you going to introduce yourself,” you giggled, sliding closer to his perch at the bar, as he panicked, standing straighter. 

“I wasn't, um… your dress, there's a rip at the edge of your skirt, I was trying to figure out if it was part of the design because I know some clothes these days have damage built into the design, or if it was in need of some emergency… sewing.” His hands gesticulating awkwardly throughout his explanation, as if anxious to show you the jumble in his brain was entirely pure and innocent, even as the flush on his face said otherwise. 

“And your name is?” 

“I-.... Spencer. My name is Spencer.” 

You stood a little straighter hearing the name, that familiarity warming you more. Spencer. Spencer. Spencer. You turned the name over in your head but took another step closer as the crowd shifted in a wave, feeling the heat coming off his body. 

“Well, Spencer,” your tongue made the decision to act for your brain, the words coming out before you could stop them. “What conclusion did you draw? Do you think the rip was intentional or not?” 

Gently, you grabbed his hand and led it to the fabric. The skirt wasn't scandalously short, but short enough to suit the dark heated atmosphere of the club at least, but as his fingers grazed the back of your thighs, still hesitant in his actions, you found yourself wishing it were just that bit higher, so his hands would have to reach further up. 

With a gaze over your shoulder at the crowd, Spencer found himself at an impass. He'd already noted a few people of interest, loiterers, men getting a bit rough and aggressive in the club, people on the outskirts (like him, he supposed) that could possibly be their unsub. 

He'd been given the all clear to disengage and leave the club as effortlessly as he could  bit something in your initial gaze had pinned him to place at the bar, and refused still to let him see reason. 

“I think it's a design feature. To draw attention to…” he swallowed hard, but you weren't sure if he was just being delicate about his words or if he was reacting to the hand that was now on him, dragging nails up from his abdomen to his chest. 

“Good observation, Spencer.” 

“Your name. You didn't tell me what your name was.” He said, grabbing your hand to stop its progress and breathing deeply as if to clear his head. 

“Y/N. We should dance.” Without giving him time to react, you abandoned your drink on the counter and pulled his arm around your waist, dragging him out to the crush of people in the middle of the dance floor. 

His protests were lost in the pulse of the music, as you kept your back to him and began grinding and swaying against him. His hands tightened on your hips as he gently started moving with you, and you threw your head back to catch his eye again. 

Spencer didn't know what he'd gotten himself into. He knew that very little actually dancing actually went on at a club, that this was just a more polite socially acceptable form of foreplay, but he didn't know that it would have such an effect on him. 

A mess of sweaty, intoxicated people spilling drinks and other fluids, and he thought he'd stay there forever if it kept your hips torturing his cock like that. 

When you glanced up at him, he was a man lost to his senses, lust clouding his eyes, mouth slightly open in a pant, you reached up to his neck and pulled his lips down to meet yours. 

You were surprised when it was his to guess to reach out first, his hand that trailed under your shirt without tours guiding it. You'd picked up a fairly innocent man at the bar and turned him into a pervert in the space of one dance. It felt like the club was watching you, how his hands grazed the skin under your breasts and caused the shiver up your spine, how your back arched to press deeper against his election. 

You may have tempted him into taking this risk, but he was the one gleefully nosediving into his fall from grace. 

“Spencer,” you whispered as he came up for air, lips resting at your ear. “I think we should get some fresh air.” 

Something in that seemed logical. It was colder outside. Maybe it would cool off whatever had lit him up like a pyre on the dance floor. Maybe the fresh air would clear his head. Or maybe just the open space would help him detangle his hands from you, would lead his thoughts away from burying himself deep in you. 

He would gladly take you outside, bid you farewell, and return to his job and his life. It was a solid exit for his first cover - who was going to question the young lovers leaving together. 

You had a feeling that the idea of outside would have Spencer pulling away from you, but you hadn't had your fill of fun just yet. 

So just as you led him onto the dancefloor, you kept a hand over his, around your waist, and you guided him out of the club, down the street a few paces, and into a darkened alleyway. 

“Y/N, we shouldn't be-” he tried to stutter out as you pulled him in for another kiss. His brain was trying to protest, but his hands were already back on your ass, pulling you up and closer to him. 

“What was that?” You said between kisses, his mouth launching an assault against each inch of your skin. 

He gasped for breath and pulled back, realising that he'd lifted and pinned you to the cold brick wall of the alley in his haste to feel you pressed against him. 

“Y/N… I don't want to take advantage of you, I'm not-” 

“I'm taking advantage of you, Spencer,” you said, nipping at his neck slowly raking your hands into his shoulders. “Am I allowed to do that? Can I take all of you, Spencer?” 

His eyes rolled back in his head as he let put a groan of pleasure, your lips sucking at the tender flesh of his nape. 

“I-I'm not a student, and-” 

“I know, but you are such a pretty boy that I decided I wanted to have some fun with you.” 

His resolve broke in half as you uttered your compliments, and his lips met yours in a moan as his hands pushed your skirt up around your waist. 

His finger trailed between your hips and his, using the wall to balance you as he pushed aside your panties and began slowly stroking your sex. 

Your hips pitched forward to press more of his slender fingers against you,  desperate to feel him stretch your cunt open first with one, then two, then however many he decided was good enough for you. 

Leaving one hand on his shoulder, you let one trail down his pants, stepping one foot down to allow you access to his zipper. 

He pauses Again for a second as you manage to get his pants open, your hand pulling his cock free from the constraint of his clothing. Spitting on your hand, you wrap around it firmly and slowly pump up and down, looking him directly in the eye as you watch the pleasure pour over him. 

His forehead rests against yours as he melts into your touch, so desperate, needing to cum so badly that he's willing to let it happen in this dark dirty alley. 

“Spencer, I want to have a lot of fun with you. Will you let me?” 

“Yes, fuck Y/N.” He nods, his hips rocking into your hand with each slow stroke you give him. 

“Spencer,” you say, rocking your hips forward and pushing your panties further to the side once again. “Spencer, please fuck me. Take my virginity, Spencer, please.” 

His mind whirled at the sentence, the pleas dropping from your lips. Virginity. You were a virgin. 

You'd had him cock stiff after three minutes of conversation  had pulled him into an alleyway and lost him in a fog of pleasure, and you were still innocent. Untouched. 

You wanted to have your fun with him. You'd chosen him. 

He couldn't articulate the lust that coated his tongue, so he simply pushed it into your mouth  grabbed his cock from your hands, lined himself up with your drippy cunt and pushed in with a single thrust. 

You gasped and let out a moan, not quite fully pleasurable. Your hands again found his shouldend, his back, but your nails were sharper this time, digging in further, almost piercing skin. 

“Fuck, Spencer, yes,” you said, breathing shakily as you slowly started moving around his cock. 

“Did it hurt?” 

“It doesn't hurt anymore. Now, please Spencer, fuck me and don't hold back. It's more fun that way.” 

He pulled your hips closer, moaning as you tightened around him. Pressing one hand against the wall and keeping another hand gripped so hard around your hip you knew it'd bruise, he began moving. 

He began slow, trying not to lose himself in the feel of your unused, tight hole. But with each small moan, each scratch against his back, he lost a little bit more of that control he was begging for. 

With his hands engaged, his brows furrowed I'm frustration that he couldn't stroke your bundle of nerves, he couldn't force you to cum on his cock as quickly as he wanted to. 

“Y/N, look at me.” You opened your eyes at the words, unaware that they'd closed tight as you emptied all other senses to just feel him. 

“Touch yourself. Right there, that's it,” he watched your fingers rub delicately against your skin, spoke little words of encouragement, and told you to increase your speed and pleasure. 

“That's it. That's it, now it's time for you to cum, Y/N. Cum on my cock, rub your little clit for me and cum around my big cock, Y/N.” 

“Shit… shit, shit, shit, Spencer, oh my god.” Your hands shook, and your hips twitched, and with a cry, you reached that high you'd been craving since you met his eyes earlier. 

He pulled out of you, slowly pulling you off the wall, as he held you up, letting your legs regain their strength. His cock was still hard, still coated in your arousal as he took care of you. 

You caught your breath fast, regained tour strength quicker as you noticed he didn't plan on getting himself off anymore. He let you have your fun with him and was happy to end it all there. 

You weren't. 

“Spencer,” you sang again, wrapping a hand once again around his erection as he tried to straighten out your now slightly more ripped skirt. “Spencer, it's more fun of we both cum. I want you to make a mess of my hand, can you do that for me?” 

You stroked his cock with a firmer grip than before, your arousal lubricating each stroke, his pre-cum mingling with it to aid you further. You suddenly wondered what he would taste like, but knew your legs would be too weak to do everything your heart desired today. 

There was always tomorrow. 

He leaned his weight back on the wall behind you, forcing you back as well as you pumped him quickly so desperate to hear him moan your name as he spilt his seed. 

“Y/N,” he moaned, and you were triumphant. His hips jerked once, then twice, then a third time, and he stilled, heaving breaths as he buried his head in your shoulder. 

He swallowed and regained his breath, and as he pulled away, you pulled your fingers to your lips and lapped up the final drops of cum that he left there. 

Most of it had his the wall, dripped to the floor, but you enjoyed these few drops and smiled brightly at him, pulling a handkerchief that you knew would be in his pocket out and cleaning the two of you up. 

He flushed again as he came back to his senses, especially as you attempted to put his clothed to rights, stepping back to replace his softening cock in his pants.

“Well,” you said after setting yourself to rights, “Thank you for the fun night, Spencer. See you tomorrow.” 

You skipped off quickly before he had a second to even process your words. 

The next day at the local precinct was a blur for Spencer as he tried to drag himself from the drug induced haze of meeting you. He'd stroked himself to completion two more times in bed after he returned to his motel room, reliving the sound of you begging him to take you, the words ‘pretty boy’ on your lips as you spread your legs. 

It'd taken his entire brain, or what was left of it, to not jump out of his skin every time Morgan had teased him with the words that morning.

“Now how did you like your first club experience, pretty boy? Did any college cuties throw themselves at you?” 

He spat up his coffee, choosing that moment to choke, and begging god for this to just be the end of Spencer Reid entirely. 

Because there was no way Morgan would actually believe that that was exactly what had happened. 

“Morgan, Gideon wants you in the interrogation room, and- wow, Spencer, you should change your shirt. What are you, 5? You can't drink coffee properly?” Elle said, chuckling slightly.

“I choked,” he frowned, but it fell on deaf ears as his teammates walked away quickly to get back to their jobs. 

He wished he could recover so quickly, even now the image of you having your fun with him the night before playing like a movie in his head. 

Looking down, he realised Elle was right, and he really did need to change his shirt. Hotch always had a few spare on hand, even for cases out of the office. He grabbed some tissues, dabbing against the mess of coffee on his shirt, suddenly thankful for lukewarm police precinct coffee, and started making his way towards Hotch. 

“Hey, Hotch-” he made it three steps before your voice cried out. 

“Ronnie!!” You shouted, throwing your hands around your elder brother as he caught you in a hug. 

“Y/N, we're at a police station. If you're going to come see me, you have to at least call me Aaron.” 

“And not take the chance to embarrass you in front of your peers and coworkers? Not a chance, Ronnie. Not a chance.” He chuckled fondly, brushing away his complaints quickly as he turned to introduce you to JJ first, then Elle and then the frozen statue that had replaced Spencer. 

“And, Y/N, this is Dr. Spencer Reid. Spencer, this is my sister, Y/N. She's a student at the university.” 

You held out your hand with a triumphant grin as Spencer stared in wide-eyed horror at the apparition in front of him. 

“Hello, Spencer. It's very nice to finally meet you. My brother has told me a lot about you, and I'm very excited to pick your brains.” 

The air seemed to explode around Spencer as each breath became deliriously hot, filling his lungs with fire. It was moments before he realised that he wasn't actually breathing at all, and the air was actually quite normal. 

Your hand remained out, ready to greet him, and to the surprise of his coworkers, he took it in his for a short shake. 

“Y/N. Hotch's sister, Y/N. Nice to meet you, Y/N Hotchner, Hotch's sister.” 

He could practically hear the audible sound of Elle and JJ smacking a hand against their faces in horror at his stupidly obvious reaction to the woman in front of him. If he wasn't careful, he'd be spouting confessions of desire soon, and knowing that Aaron Hotchner carried two guns on his person even now did nothing to calm his thoughts. 

“Okay, well, Y/N, I'm busy with some interrogations now, but I can drive you back to your apartment in half an hour if you're okay to wait with JJ?” 

“Are you busy, Spencer?” You asked instead, keeping her eyes locked on the man who still weakly shook her hand, unaware of when the right time to stop would be. 

“I was serious when I said I wanted to pick your brain, my brother said you had a PhD in Engineering and I'm struggling through a class right now that I need some guidance in if you can spare five minutes?” 

Spencer stared between Hotch and you, looking for the right answer to please present itself before he imploded right there. 

“Yes. PhD, I have a PhD. Three actually, but whose counting? Me. I just counted them. One of them is in mathematics, actually, so I guess I'm always counting.” He finally dropped your hand, and you gave him a wider smile that dropped his heart to his stomach. “I am free, unless you needed me for something else, Hotch?” 

His gaze was pleading, though he wasn't sure if he was begging for his life, five more minutes alone with you or the power to extricate himself from this situation entirely, but Hotch nodded his acceptance quickly and let you lead Spencer off to the small, empty visitors room at the opposite side of the precinct. 

You shut the door behind you when you walked in, leaning over to close the blinds as well before you turned back to Spencer. 

“Your shirt is wet. You should probably take it off,” you giggled as you trailed a hand up his arm once again. 

His hand grabbed yours before you could do any more damage to his tender nerves than you'd already managed that morning. 

“You knew the entire time? Who I was?” 

“I walked over because you seemed familiar, but I only figured it out when you said your name. My brother does talk about you a lot.”

“Hotch is going to kill me,” he said, slumping down into the chair behind him. “Y/N, your brother was outside the club. He could've seen us leave.” 

You climbed into his lap, and his eyes finally met yours again, his tongue stopping its hopeless tirade as you relaxed into his chest. 

“I have two older brothers, Spencer. Do you know how often they've been able to tell me what to do?” Your hands started down his shirt, making quick work of the buttons as he stared up, enthralled. 

“Not once have they been able to stop me from doing something I wanted.” 

He scoffed quickly, unable to help himself. Your hands gripped either side of his face and lifted his head to meet your gaze again. 

“And right now, Spencer, I really want you.” A roll of your hips was enough to have him hissing and grabbing your hips. You started steadily rocking into him, eyes still locked with his. 

“Y/N, please let's be sensible.” 

“I don't want to be sensible, I want to have fun. I want to suck your dick right here, and let you cum in my mouth. I want to scream your name and let everyone know who is giving me pleasure. Can't I do that, Spencer?” 

“No,” he groaned, his eyes screwed shut as you dry humped him, trying to get yourself off on his lap, his.cock rising with each of your quiet moans. 

“Spencer, please. I want your big, hard cock back inside me. Please, please, please. I'll be a good girl, I promise.” 

His eyes shot open in incredulity as he watched you use his body as you saw fit. 

“Good girls don't lose their virginities in alleyways, Y/N. Good girls don't throw themselves at their brothers' coworkers. Good girls listen when they're told no, and don't try to suck cock in public, like little sluts.” He spat each word at you, bit you enjoyed each insult he hurled your way, enjoyed the way his body recoiled as he finally called you a slut. 

He seemed slightly shocked by his anger himself, but you didn't seem to care. It took you only seconds after to push your lips against his again and have your hands on his cock once again, pulling him out of his pants as his hands explored you just as eagerly. 

“Yeah, Spencer, your little slut. I'm such a little slut for you, please fuck me.” 

He buried a hand in your hair, tipping your head back so his tongue could probe deeper, his other hand already under your shirt and teasing one nipple. You lifted your hips and sunk down onto his cock, neither of you stopping to think again about your actions as you began to rode him. 

“30 minutes, Y/N, by now we have 24 minutes and 17 seconds. Can you manage that, Y/N?” 

“Yes, sir.” You said, feeling his dick twitch as you rode him. “Oh did you like that? You liked me calling you, sir?” His hips pressed up again, his body answering more honestly than his tongue. 

“What else can I call you? Spencer… sir….daddy?” 

He broke away from his place buried in your neck to push the two of you down to the floor, the new angle had you gasping as a hand covered your mouth stifling any screams you could make before you made them. 

“Be quiet and cum on my cock, Y/N,” he whispered and picked up his pace, one hand gagging you while the other pulled painfully at your nipple, pinching it between two hands and using it to lift your entire chest so your body was arched toward him, letting him go deeper. 

“Yes, Daddy,” you whispered again, against his fingers, tempted to wrap your lips around one and suck it into your mouth. 

“Fuck, just call me Spencer, Y/N.” 

But you couldn't respond, suddenly overcome with the numbness of you orgasm washing over you as you bit back a choked cry. 

“That's it, good job, Y/N. You listen so well, good job.” He rubbed soothing circles into your chest as his hips slowed, working you through your orgasm as he withdrew once again. 

This time though, he didn't try to pull away and leave himself hard, but sat himself up, and lifted you once again too, putting slight pressure at the back of your head until you were on your knees and letting your head fall down, down, down as your lips wrapped around his wet cock. 

You took him in your mouth, and tasted the bitter, salty flavor of your illicit activities, lapping every last bit of your joint pleasure up as he pushed your hair up and down his cock. 

It didn't take long for his hips to press up into your mouth slightly harder than before, his hands holding you steady as he came down your throat. He held your head there for a minute two, as you tried your best to breathe and stay there, taking as much of his cum down your throat as you could. He pulled your head off him and you swallowed the rest, smiling brightly at him as you did so. 

“Thank you for the fun, Spencer,” You said again, grabbing your phone and checking the time. 

Standing up, you pulled your clothes back in place, pulling your skirt down and your panties up, smoothing out the tangles in your hair. 

“Let me go get you that spare shirt, Doctor Reid,” you said, opening the door. “I'm very grateful for your help with my class load, sir.” 

His head fell back into his hands as you closed the door, leaving him to wonder just what the hell he'd got himself in for. 

[wereoz]

rewatching s1&2 and seeing the spencelle interactions has made me believe new things about their relationship. bear in mind i think a lot of things surrounding romance are very ambiguous so it’s hard to define the stages in a relationship but i think it mostly goes like this:

i think while neither had any strong feelings before ‘derailed’, all their interactions built the foundation and there was chemistry, like elle trying to get everyone to not talk about reid failing his firearms qualification and them hanging out in garcia’s office that ep.

then in ‘derailed’, while the stakes are high, their feelings come to the surface and are tested: so while reid hasn’t initiated much with elle, he says ‘it’s alright, elle’ in a tone i can’t really describe - tender? reassuring? and after, he’s the one sitting close to her, joking with her, rubbing her knee (such a cute interaction).

elle during this ep is the same, she has already shown interest (in my opinion) but it increases to me as she’s quite timid saying he saved her life, and is concerned for him, trying to ask about him saying he ‘knows what it’s like’ being delusional.

so: feelings have developed on both sides.

however, i think afterwards the course of those feelings is different for elle and reid. i noticed that elle, in the next ep, gives reid a look that is very affectionate (and very gif-ed on tumblr), and she is the one who was quite jealous while reid was with lilah for that ep, which makes me believe that elle had become aware of her feelings, and they were closer to her because of that. of course, her job is very important to her so she can’t date a coworker -remember the fraternisation rules?- and i feel like her being older means she can control and hide her feelings better than when reid realises

wheras reid is continuing on as normal, even …. well not ‘pursuing’ lilah he was the one being pursued 😭 but? open to it? so i think that being so young, a character who finds accessing his emotions to be difficult, and having become self sufficient at a young age, his feelings aren’t intruding and he can continue on without thinking he likes elle romantically. just to say: i don’t think this means he doesn’t care about elle, i just think he’s a 24 year old who needs… room? he’s barely had any romantic experience yet, and he’s been isolated from his peers which makes social connections difficult; he needed time anyway.

(also: reid -similarly to elle- needs this job, i feel like dating a coworker feels veeeery off limits for him)

then the fisher king……. dear god…..

HOWEVER post fisher king, in s2 the theme is ‘develop spencelle right before they breakdown so it hurts more’: upon reid and elle interacting for the first time in 4 months, they seem utterly besotted. they say ‘if it isn’t dr reid’ and ‘wow… elle’ so nervously, followed up by them awkwardly and sincerely complimenting each other’s hair, while reid is nervous elle doesn’t like it….. wow.

i take reid’s behaviour as: during those 4 months without elle, it set in how much danger elle was really in, and that he almost lost her, which he didn’t have energy to confront after being more concerned about his mother in the fisher king eps (understandable). and, similarly to how ‘derailed’ shifted his feelings, he changes again to more concerned about elle, and conscious of her.

reid and elle are forced to be in proximity as he has been assigned to watch over her……. i love this for many reasons because reid has no control over her at all so she’s really taking him for a ride, they have really cute interactions (‘no i didn’t!’ ‘yes you did!’) and i think it was a great way to develop them by giving an obvious reason for spending more time together. (also they just look so cute together…..<33)

AND NOW for a moment that brings me great fucking emotion (it’s sweet & romantic but heartbreaking :(( <//3) the hotel scene!!

what stands out to me first is the few seconds before the hotel scene, when reid is alone in his room and fidgeting nervously. it was shown after everyone else working on the case, so the implication is that was what worried him until he dashes out of the room to see elle - he was so worried about her!!! he was also one of the only ones and the first one who went to her about her being attacked, so once again: he’s really changed the dynamic, and he’s very involved here.

so heartbreaking that what made him realise he likes elle is the reason they couldn’t be together…. <///3

[i-m-crazy]

I can't emphasize enough how much I admire this 19-year old actress, with every episode. She is just one year older but she this enby queen has also my respects.

Without fail, she again proved that no one could have done the role of Ellie better than her. How she looked at Riley at the carousel? Omg

The Last of Us: S1 ep7

I also love how everything is so normalised in here. That scene between Bella Ramsey and Storm Reid? That kiss, broke my heart, more because the later was as no more.

I had seen Storm Reid on Euphoria and I loved her how on on spot and real her acting was there and here too. These two are gonna break my heart.

Then again I am srsly doubting, if TLOU is even a show based on zombies����🏻

[mermaidsirennikita]

Yeah this needs to be talked about more, the amount of articles, podcasts, youtube/tiktok videos or just online comments that I saw after season 1 came out that just assume the Bton books were diverse because the show is? And the fact the new marketing push around the books is not disabusing people about that notion, mainly through the new covers (both regular and the show tie-in ones).

It's a really complicated, thorny issue in some ways and very simple in others. If I look at Just Romance Novels (which is obviously a niche, just zeroing in a genre for the sake of discussion) the genre is still dominated by product from white authors, largely with characters written as white. While it's diversifying (far more slowly than it should be) a lot of the older "proven success" books are written by white people, about white people. I don't think it's wrong to cast diversely if you're adapting those books--and on a practical, "people putting food on the table" level, I want actors of color to have as many solid, well-paying opportunities as possible.

At the same time, there are still so many authors of color neglected. Not all of whom wrote people of color on the page, of course, especially in historical romance--Sherry Thomas and Stacy Reid are two historical romance novelists who write about white characters, and it's no surprise that the potential adaptation of Stacy's works would be cast more diversely. There's a level of tracking how expectations have changed when you look at how Sinful Wallflowers was presented as a book series, and how it could be presented as a show.

And like, I'll allow that we're in the midst of a sort of "boom" (who knows how long it'll last) of period pieces cast more diversely than they would've been even 15 years ago. The approaches are often different and individualized. The Great has people of color playing characters who'd be literal white Russians "in real life", and it's literally never commented on, which I think many would prefer for a show like Bton. BUT, most of the lead characters are white, with Orlo (who I think did not get the strongest writing from jump, though Sascha wanting to leave after s1 didn't help) and Arkady (who I think is hilarious and finally got more screentime in s3, but he could've gotten more from the beginning... so much Velementov screentime should be Arkady screentime) being two of the only truly prominent people of color onscreen.

Then you have something like Sanditon, where Georgiana gets better writing than many people on Bton, but the show obviously never knew how to really confront her background, made the racist old lady the peak comic relief, and never prioritized Georgiana the way her white counterpart Charlotte was prioritized. Georgiana got an afterthought of an ending after being humiliated by the narrative several times.

One of the shows that handled this best was Tom Jones--Sophia is treated as this gem of a girl whose grandfather and aunt love her, but clearly aren't fully sure about how to solidify her safety as a Black woman of means in England. There's a very tender scene where she discusses her father enslaving her and her mother with Tom, and the show doesn't shy away from Sophia's mixed feelings on the entire thing. There's a heavy implication re: her being made to perform whiteness with face powder, etc, but nonetheless this is not dominating Sophia's storyline. She gets to be the swooning girl who falls head over heels and is desired by a good man and upheld as his ideal in every way. She confronts conflict, but she does not SUFFER, and she is not MINIMIZED in favor of white women in the story--Sophia is really pretty explicitly like, The Woman of that piece. Presented as the most beautiful, as not flawless but good and deserving of love, as a true classical heroine whose personal narrative is actively expanded to match Tom's. The only thing I find prominently weird (after one viewing) is that she and Tom never had like, a sweet wedding night scene, as we saw Tom have sex with three different white women onscreen, of of which was like.... the core villain. I would've liked to have seen Sophia get the full physical adoration there, onscreen, and it did stand out a bit that she didn't.

So those are adaptations with growing pains, not getting everything right, but some being better than others (and Bton being the bottom of the barrel, there).

Then there are things that are unequivocally wrong, and not a part of growing pains as adaptations navigate between what sells and what diversifies and what works, and one of those unequivocally wrong things is selling the Bton books as diverse reads. Those books are some of the most conventional Regency romances out there; you don't even get a lot of economic or class diversity, let alone any racial diversity. Almost everyone in that series is upper class. Even Sophie is the daughter of a nobleman. And I'm not saying it's wrong to write about those people, but for the books to now be sold as something they're not, when the author didn't even think people of color could get HEAs in her Historically Accurate World... is the worst kind of capitalism.

That's part of the extra ugliness (on top of all the obvious ugliness) here. Julia Quinn was against what she's now profiting from. It's not just picking a white author's works to be emblematic of diversity they don't represent; it's THAT author's works. And I think that making Queen Charlotte from all this, putting Julia's name on the cover (I am.... 90% sure that book was ghostwritten, with input from Julia and Shonda, but go off) just adds to all of it.

[reiding-writing]

sickeningly sweet [ s.r ]

Spencer Reid had never had a valentine before. In attempt to make him feel better about it you engage in a casual conversation that leads to a potential date.

s1!spencer reid x gn!reader || fluff || 1.3k || masterlist!!

a/n: happy valentine’s day my loves <3 (i promise copy cat part 2 is coming soon 😭)

You can’t say that you’re surprised when you find out that Spencer Reid has never had a valentine before.

It sounds a little mean in your mind, but you know that the whole team is thinking the same thing.

“You’ve really never asked someone to be your valentine pretty boy? You’re missing out,” Morgan can’t help but chuckle at Spencer’s confession, taking a sip of his coffee with an exaggerated smirk on his face.

“I- did, once when I was nine,” Spencer’s tone carries that awkwardness you’ve come to associate him with along with a small trace of uncomfortableness at the topic of conversation. “She emptied her juice box over my head and then laughed at me,”

“And you haven’t asked anyone since? Come on Reid you can’t let one bad experience get you down,” Elle turns back and forth in her chair with her foot as a pivot.

“You say that like either of you have valentines,” You shake your head at the two with a laugh as you lean back against your chair.

“Oh i’ll have one by the end of the night,” Morgan shoots a wink in your direction and you making a mock gagging motion in response.

“You’re gross,” You roll your eyes at Morgan with a dramatic shake of your head as you push your chair backwards and stand up.

“I’m gonna make some coffee, you want some genius?” You raise an eyebrow towards Spencer, tone harbouring infinitely less sarcasm as you nod towards his empty coffee mug.

“Yeah uh, that would be great actually thank you,” Spencer hands over his mug to you with a smile that’s embarrassingly endearing and you’re glad the kitchenette is around the corner from the bullpen because you’re sure your affection for him is showing all over your face.

Spencer Reid had never had a valentine.

Oh how you wanted to change that.

To shower the boy in all of the love and affection he so justly deserved and yet never seemed to get. To dote on him for a day and not let him so much as lift a finger to do anything for himself.

Instead, you settled for making him a sickeningly sweet cup of coffee.

“So, when are you gonna ask then?” Spencer stopped craning his neck in your direction at Morgan’s question, an obliviously confused expression painting his face.

“Huh?”

“Oh come on Reid we all see the way you look at them don’t try and hide it now,” Morgan rolled his eyes exaggeratedly with a shake of his head, and Spencer flushes a bright red at the accusation.

“I’m not- I don’t-”

“You don’t have to deny it Reid, this is a safe space,” Elle’s tone carried all the teasing of an older sibling, and her expression hammered that message home tenfold.

“You’ve got thirteen hours to make a move pretty boy otherwise you gotta say goodbye to that sweet valentine of yours until next year,” Morgan tilted his head with a furrowed brow.

“There’s actually twelve hours and 42 minutes until midnight,” Spencer’s response was more of a defence than anything, and he awkwardly pushed a stray stand of hair behind his ear.

“That’s even worse, you gotta grow some balls and ask them soon man or it’s gonna be too late,”

Morgan was right. He did have to ‘grow some balls’ - whatever that meant - and actually ask you out before you ended up finding someone that was way more interesting and experienced in the dating world.

What if you already had? You never mentioned whether you had a valentine or not during the earlier conversation.

What if he actually plucked up the courage to ask you out and then you turned him down because you already had somebody else.

God that sounded like a nightmare.

“I am absolutely not going to ask them to be my valentine.”

“You’re not gonna ask who to be your valentine?” Your voice jolts him out of his defensiveness and straight into embarrassment, not at all aided by the way you lean over the back of his chair to place his coffee mug on his desk.

“I uh- No one- I’m not asking anyone-” His deflection is very half-assed, and the fact you don’t pick up on it makes Morgan want to just force your two heads together until you both kiss.

“Very understandable honestly,” You take a seat in your desk chair with a satisfied nod, crossing your legs and taking a sip from your coffee. “Valentine’s day is overrated in my opinion,”

“You- aren’t spending it with anyone?”There was a clear sense of bewilderment lacing Spencer’s tone, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion like he physically couldn’t fathom the fact that you didn’t have anyone to spend the day with.

You shake your head nonchalantly at his question, swivelling around in your chair until you’re facing your desk once more. “Nope, i’m gonna eat a tub of ice cream and wallow in my own self pity as I make fun of shitty rom-coms,”

You lean your head against the back of your chair to look at Spencer beside you, shrugging your shoulders. “You’re very welcome to join me if you have nothing else to do later, it’ll be fun,”

“No invite for me?” Morgan’s tone is very clearly teasing your favouritism towards Spencer, although even if you said that he could come he wouldn’t, this might be the one shot Spencer actually has to grow a pair.

“Oh please, knowing you we wouldn’t even make it through one movie before you get bored and decide you want to go to a bar or something,” You roll your eyes with a laugh. “Spencer actually watches the movies we play,”

“Right right, you and your ‘movie nights’ how could I forget?” Morgan shakes his head at you with that knowing smile and you have half the mind to threaten him with violence at the potential of him spilling your little secret, but you know that if you do that’ll be exposing enough for Spencer to catch on about how head over heels you are for him.

“So, what’d’ya say genius? Impromptu movie night? I have dark chocolate,” You throw the dark chocolate in there as a bonus like he wouldn’t say yes to you if your idea was to sit outside on the pavement behind the office in the rain.

“Sure- Sure yeah okay-“ Spencer’s answer is coupled with and encouraging nod from Morgan, and it makes Spencer’s face heat up more than he thinks is humanly possible.

“Great! I’ll even crack out the strawberries,” You clap you hands together and it’s a done deal.

“I’m gonna drop this off to Hotch i’ll be back in a sec,” You hold up the file in your hand as you push yourself away from your desk and stand up, speed walking across the bullpen towards Hotch’s office.

“A movie marathon with chocolate and strawberries, that sounds pretty romantic to me pretty boy,” Spencer shakes his head adamantly at Morgan’s continued attempts at trying to lay down the groundwork for him to take his relationship with you to the next step.

“They’re just being nice,”

Morgan and Elle both facepalm in unison.

[reidsdaisies]

hello!! could you maybe write something (it’s super basic i’m sorry) about spencer asking reader out on a date, and then maybe write a little about the date itself? i just think the idea of spencer being sososo nervous and morgan hyping him up ahhhh. i’m picturing s1 spencer (because he’s my fav)

if you write this i’ll love you forever, but if not, that’s okay too!!🩷🩷

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

༉‧´ˎ˗ pairing; spencer reid x gn!bau!reader

༉‧´ˎ˗ warnings; none really except mb Spencer comparing himself to Derek for like 2 seconds and some slight akwardness

༉‧´ˎ˗ wc; 1.0k

༉‧´ˎ˗ a/n; hii tyy for requesting hon!!! early seasons Spencer is also my fav :) I’m not the proudest of this one but feel free to tell me what you thought about it <3

cm masterlist ; main masterlist ; request guidelines ; inbox

The first person Spencer thought to seek advice from was Morgan. Derek Morgan, essentially the BAU’s modern day Casanova, always pestered Reid about his love life— or more like lack of it.

Spencer knows he shouldn’t, but he can’t help compare himself to Derek. Derek is strong, muscular, has a charming smile, highly experienced in dating and such things, and has got enough charisma to pass around. While on the other hand, Spencer is skinnier than average, lanky and tall, and most of his experiences with women have ended poorly.

He thought for sure that as soon as you joined the BAU, that if you were to develop an attraction for any other agents, it’d probably be the ever mysterious, muscly Derek Morgan.

Little did Spencer know that you couldn’t care less about Derek or Spencer’s appearances, though they are attractive in their own rights. It was Spencer’s personality and overall care for you that hooked you in and made you swoon, hard.

It was pathetic really, how you turned into a babbling mess around him, similar to how he did around you. You were just two idiots with crushes on each other, thinking the other side of it was unrequited.

…

Spencer approached Derek’s desk, gulping as he inches closer, standing over Derek’s shoulder. He doesn’t even need a tap on the shoulder or a clearing of the throat to tell it’s Spencer.

“Pretty boy,” Derek’s words dragged out, raising an eye brow as he spins around in his desk chair. “It better be important, I’m almost finished with my case summary.”

Spencer nodded, fiddling with his fingers as he looks longingly across the bullpen. “I- uhm.. I think I’m gonna do it right now.”

Derek is only confused for a moment, his head turning in the direction Spencer’s is, only to see you conversing with Elle.

“Oo, boy genius planning to lay the moves on Y/N.” He smirks knowingly, his eyebrows moving up and down as he looks back up at Spencer who’s very obviously blushing. “What’re you waiting for?”

“I just don’t know if they feel the s-“ Derek cuts Spencer off with a scoff of annoyance, grabbing his work and standing up at eye level with the boy.

“Trust me, in all my years, never have I seen two people more perfect for each other. You’ve just got to have confidence a bit more in yourself, Spence.”

Spencer chews on his lip, adjusting his satchel over his shoulder. He was already about to head out a couple minutes ago when he remembered this is what he’s been building up to all week.

He’s been giving you very subtle hints, ones that after the fact he cringed at just how subtle they were. Flirting didn’t come particularly easy to him, so he stuck to the simple things.

On Thursday when he was feeling extra bold, he ‘accidentally’ grazed his hand over yours when you were both reaching for a mug. He continuously gave you small smiles and glances while you worked, something Derek said should be the easiest way to flirt.

“Thanks, Derek.” He mumbles, walking towards you after receiving a pat on the back from the older man. Luckily for him, Elle was also getting ready to leave, and you two were hugging goodbye.

Once she disappeared through the doors of the office, he cleared his throat, whispering a soft “Hi, Y/N.”

“Oh! Are you also heading out?” You ask him, reaching for your bag from the counter and tossing it over your shoulder.

He nods, swallowing as he takes a quick look back over to Morgan, who’s heading up to Hotch’s office. Morgan shoots him a discreet thumbs up, hurrying up the stairs to give you two some privacy.

“Yeah, but not yet. I, well, I was wondering something..”

You give him a soft smile, encouraging him to keep speaking.

“Well, so I’ve been thinking about it all week, right. And well Morgan was helping me out with the thing I’m talking about, and he said I just needed to be direct and ask you straight up, but-“

“Spencer,” you stop him in the middle of his run on sentence, and he looks up anxiously at you. “I-.. I think we should go on a date.”

His eyes widen slightly, but he nods. “That’s exactly what I was going to ask you..”

“Oh, phew,” you softly chuckle, trying your best to contain the smile that threatens to break out on your face. “What were you thinking we do?”

“Oh. Well, I actually hadn’t gotten that far into my plan,” he laughs along with you, scratching the back of his neck. “Maybe we could watch a film? There’s this one showing next weekend downtown, but..” He trails off, unsure if it’s the most exciting idea for a first date.

“But?” You question, warming up to the idea of the movie.

“It’s, well it’s in Russian. I wouldn’t suppose you know Russian?” He gets his response in the form of you shaking your head.

“It’d be fine with me if it has subtitles.”

“Yeah, but if it doesn’t I could always just whisper the translations into your ear.”

The visualization of Spencer having to lean in close to you during the movie, his breath tickling your cheek as he talks to you, is enough to make your cheeks warm.

You nod furiously.

“I- uhm.. yes! I like that idea a lot.” Now you’re the one stuttering, awkwardly smiling to avoid making too much of a fool out of yourself.

He licks his lips, nodding once again.

“Saturday, 3:30pm? Maybe we could go out to eat after?”

Your eyes light up as you smile, in slight disbelief that this conversation is even really happening, but excited nonetheless.

“I’d love to!”

And with that, you bid him a farewell, watching him run back to his desk to throw on his scarf, the elevator doors closing behind you as you hit the button to the lobby.

You can’t wait for Saturday.

[maschotch]

The 'I'm sorry dad' scene you just self-reblogged - the gravestone shows 1978 as her father's year of death and in the hospital ~in between~ scene in fisher king p2 it's said that she was 8 when he died. That puts her birth around 1970, which i find really interesting in the age lineup of the characters - she's the newbie for the s1 perspective and yet she's definitely older than JJ, Garcia, Reid and Morgan, but most interestingly she might actually be older than Hotch as well depending on which of the 19 versions of his age we're working from. I think that possibility adds an extra edge to their dynamic in particular and the difficulties they face in communicating and how to help/not help after garner. But like, in a way i'm not sure i can properly explain, you know.

i rewatched that clip because i didnt fucking believe you akdjkaxh its actually 1979 soooo fake fan just kidding its insane that you read the tombstone i didnt even think about it

okay criminal minds ages are always a fucking nightmare because they wont ever give us consistent timelines on any of their backstories, so ima do my best but obviously everything is up to personal discretion

if she’s 8 in 1979, that puts her birthday probably in 1971, making her 34 in 2005. this is the same age as the actress, so for efficiency’s sake lets say they never bothered to change their ages (with the exception of maybe hotch because it did seem like they intended for him to be late 30s). that would make hotch the oldest at 43, morgan next at 35, penelope at 33, jj 27, spencer 25. if they changed anything they reduced everyone’s age, but it was probably equivalent and didnt affect the birth order

this… makes sense to me. i think it goes to show how much work it took for elle to reach the bau and how capable the rest of the team is go join so early in their career. this is something elle has been working towards her whole life, and morgans around the same age and already achieved it. for at least a few years now. meanwhile hotch doesnt have ten years on elle, but he’s already been at the bau long enough to become unit chief—and he had a successful career as a lawyer before that. spencer, jj, and garcia are all exceptions because they either joined through alternative means or they have a different job entirely

which explains her demeanor a little more. as the new kid, she obviously had to prove herself. but she probably felt even more pressured to do so bc it took her longer to get here. she’s extra defensive, and her banter w morgan laced w harsher quips than necessary are all small ways she tries to compensate for her inexperience in order for them all to view her as equals. its why she feels more like a failure when she cant handle the job. it took her this long to get here and now she’s not sure if she has what it takes to stay. gives a little more reason for the others—especially hotch—to be reluctant to help in the aftermath of the fisher king: they dont want to disrespect her by doing so. they doubt their own capability to help her and they dont want to make it worse if all its going to do is wound her pride.

between elle and hotch specifically… i dont think it changes much actually. even tho hotch could be aged down a significant amount, i think hes still older than her. by how much im not sure but even a slight age difference plus being a superior is enough to maintain that dynamic.

[ssa-thotchnerr]

Ok follow up to anons question when would the other bau kids be born? Because I can’t really imagine reid!reader being around in season 1 (spencer looks wayyy to young) and alvez!reader I’m not too sure about (also a big fan of Luke🧎‍♀️) - 🐙

okay!!

hotchner!reader i usually write her as being born in 02-03, so a few years before the series starts and she’s a couple years older than jack!

prentiss!reader is pretty much the same as hotchner!reader, just a few years before emily joins the team

hotchniss!reader i write as Haley cheated on Hotch before s1, and they divorced. Emily and Hotch meet in s2 and start going out, and then emily falls pregnant in late s2 (late 2007?) and that’s when jacks born, reader is born around the end of S3!

reid!reader i have as s4 reid, so she’s near ages with Henry! her mom left her with spencer when she was like 6 months old!

alvez!reader is around 12 when luke joins the team, she was born around 2005!! her mom also left her cus she was a lil nasty