They All Ended Up At Boarding School For Different Reasons, But They Ended Becoming A Makeshift Family

I’m just impressed how Olivia pulls off all the short pixie cuts/bobs that were popular at the time. Very jealous as I did not have the bone structure or facial shape ( or the confidence, to be honest) to pull those styles off. And the makeup isn’t great, but I have seen much worse ( ie thinner) brows than that in my time!

Bensler + Season 2

Criminal Minds Season 13

Barnes as the person in charge is just awful! She makes Strauss look like an angel and gives me serious Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter vibes ( “Order! I will have order!”).  Seeing the team in different roles just makes me so sad, especially Penelope.  JJ as Unit Chief is just about the stupidest decision I ever heard, really not a fan of her character, and haven’t been since she stopped being liaison officer.  Alvez and Simmons have more depth and are more interesting.

Love Spencer and Emily’s relationship, they have such a lovely older sister-little brother dynamic.  Still missing Hotch and Morgan! Some of my favourite episodes is when the team is at its smallest in Season 4, which is one of my favourite Seasons overall. 

1) liaison jj, as her role was more unique, she was on-screen less but more interesting as a character. She was always quite vocal that she didn’t want to be a profiler, it seemed to come out of nowhere. If she’d shown interest in the run-up ( looking over how to write a profile, asking her team to test her on x/y/z , reading up on it/studying for one of the tests...)I might have found it more believable.

2) profiler emily, as politics were never her thing early on, and I thought she was a great addition to the team. Again, if we’d seen her opinion shift and had her try it before, it would have felt more organic!

3) casual morgan feels truer to his character, as he’s always ready to jump into action-it must be so constrictive to have to wear a suit when you’re kicking down doors/ running after unsubs!

4) hotch in suits. I am a sucker for a classically handsome man in a suit, and the whole put together, show no emotion façade he puts up goes perfectly well with his immaculate suit and perfectly tied tie! It’s close though, as I do love him in casual wear too!

5) hotch without a beard, though it’s close. I normally prefer men clean-shaven, but he rocks the beard!

6) Reid without glasses, I like that it doesn’t perpetuate the stereotypical nerd trope!

7) Reid with short hair. It looks best when Hotch asks him if he joined a boyband, hee!

8) Penelope with blonde hair, by, no pun intended, a hair! As a blonde, I preferred when our hair colours matched! Ironically, I think she looks best as a redhead posing as a blonde in Reflections of Desire, when she has to do a videoed press conference-total Marilyn Monroe off-set vibes!

9) Morgan as unit chief! He did such a great job and could definitely have continued if Hotch had stepped down and taken the 9-5 desk job!

10) I like both for different reasons. Both super smart, but in very different ways, and extremely different personalities. For the language connection and her lovely relationship with Spencer, I’ll say Blake, if I really have to choose!

11) Haven’t seen past Season 11, and the little glimpse I got of Mike wasn’t really enough to pass judgement on him. Luke seems very sweet though, and he ends up with Penelope, and if she likes him that much, I should go for him!

12) early seasons, until about 7/8, when the cliffhangers stopped being so good. The first 4/5 seasons have brilliant finales, I have no idea how anyone who watched when they aired on TV coped until the next season started, as they were total cliff-hangers, with 4 being the best!

13) Foyet arc, as cannot actually bring myself to fully watch all the Scratch eps, just too bloody terrifying. The Foyet arc was so long, with so many little clues, and the reveal about who Foyet actually is made me gasp/get shivers down my spine! 

14) Both, for different reasons! The end of Season 1 had me ordering the Season 2 DVDs immediately, as I only bought Season 1 to see if I got on with the show! Season 7 was a lovely ensemble moment, showcasing the team’s closeness and it just makes me so happy! 

15) Emily, as we got more insight into her character, but, if Elle had stayed, I think she would have grown on me- I didn’t like or relate to her much in Season 1, but liked her arc at the end. They were both tough, take no crap ladies who could be funny. I think Emily also got on better with Penelope/JJ/the other female profilers ( training Todd, great relationship with Tara...).

16) Both interesting characters with their own flaws and merits. Long-term, Seaver would have bern more interesting, and she seemed to gel with the team more, hanging out with Penelope, Morgan and Reid at least once outside of work hours. 

17) Tank top Emily, especially the red one! JJ’s style is preppier, with the shirts, and she looks so beautiful in those light blue shirts she often wore!

18) Hotch in a suit. Matches so well with his personality and makes him even more attractive!

19) Lauren, as have not seen the Spencer episode, as I think it’s post Season 11, with the prison arc. I did however really enjoy the Riley Jenkins episodes, which are pretty Reid-centric!

20) Season 1 Hotch and Haley are so sweet as new parents, and when Hotch is at home they have some adorable moments together that made me squee. However, once Hotch is a single dad, I loved Beth and their relationship. She was really confident, funny, had a great job and would have made a fantastic new partner for Hotch, had she stayed. We only really got to see the bad side of Hotch and Haley after the first season. 

criminal minds asks: this or that

1. liaison jj or profiler jj?

2. profiler emily or unit chief emily?

3. morgan in suits or morgan in casual clothes?

4. hotch in suits or hotch in casual clothes?

5. hotch with a beard or without a beard?

6. reid with glasses or without glasses?

7. reid with long hair or reid with short hair?

8. penelope with red hair or penelope with blonde hair?

9. morgan as a profiler or morgan as unit chief?

10. kate or blake?

11. matt or luke?

12. early seasons or later seasons?

13. the scratch arc or the foyet arc?

14. season 1 finale or season 7 finale?

15. elle or emily?

16. seaver or todd?

17. tank top jj or tank top emily?

18. morgan in a suit or hotch in a suit?

19. the “spencer” episode or the “lauren” episode

20. hotch/haley or hotch/beth?

1) 6 months or so ago

2) I was intrigued by themetaphorgirl’s awesome AU ( Patron Saint of Lost Causes), thought the characters and series premise sounded awesome so ordered Season 1!

3) Garcia, as it’s rare to have a curvy woman in a role where she’s not just the quirky best friend. She’s super smart, really empathetic and wears colourful outfits. I just really relate to her! Hotch is joint favourite though, love his dry humour, his loyalty to the team and the fact he’s an excellent father and boss!

4) Gideon, because he was rude, especially to Garcia when he had to stay behind in Season 1. 

5) Gideon. Everyone seemed to think he was this amazing profiler, but all I got from him was distant and rude!

6) Kate Callahan. I thought she was really good at her job, but still had a soft gentleness to her, and she had flaws ( clumsy). I felt like she fitted into the team well and liked her storylines. I feel that lots of people disliked her.

7) Season 1 does a great job setting up all the characters. At the moment,in my rewatch,  4 and 5 are excellent.  8) Season 7 was pretty weak, I can’t remember any good/standout episodes except the last two, and there was little to no character development to my liking.

9) Seasons 1-4 had incredible, nail-biting cliffhangers at the end, which I would not have been able yo vope with if I’d been watching as the show aired!

10) I like Penelope, Route 66, the Halloween episodes, Omnivore, 100, the Maeve episodes... Any episode with a favourite character focus ( Penelope going to the killer’s execution, Derek and Buford, the Riley Jenkins episodes...)or a serial killer arc!

11) Anything with spies/CIA nonsense. Also, any of the episodes where the viewer knows who the unsub is from the start-I like to try and work out who it is for myself!

12) The ones involving torture/disfigurement- the eye stealer squicked me out recently, in my rewatch! Also anything involving child abuse upsets me.

13) I love lots of friendships in the show, but don’t ship anyone romantically during the show. I have a big soft spot for Hotch and Garcia’s friendship, and could see them getting together post-Season 15.

14) I liked that there were no romantic relationships between the main team, just super strong friendships!  15) Garcia and Morgan never fail to make me laugh or cry, Hotch and Rossi are great friends, but I particularly like Hotch and Garcia’s friendship, as on paper, it’s really unlikely, but they get each other!

16) Gideon and Garcia did not get on in Season 1! They bonded a little over Reid’s Season 2 kidnapping, which was nice, but overall had a terrible relationship!

17) Foyet, as he’s truly terrifyingly brilliant and he has such an emotional impact on the team! The Fisher King is also a close second. Also the Zugzwang killer, eek! 

18) I felt empathy for the killers whose horrible childhoods we saw onscreen, which I know is most of them! The woman who turns women into dolls broke my heart too. 

19) Hotch’s arc with Foyet ( and before and after) is really interesting. He starts off as a new dad, then a divorcee, then a single father, as well as dealing with leading/being part of a team.

20) Rossi or Prentiss. They both start off as quite distant, not quite part of the team, but they end up integrating and being key players and developing strong relationships with the rest of the team.

21) Garcia, she’s so bright and colourful, but her outfits are well thought out/coordinated. Also like Hotch’s style, he always looks like he’s come off a 40′s movie set with his suit, starched shirt and tightly knotted tie! In Route 66, in his very fancy suit, he looks great too, but can also pull off casual wear!

22) Hotch, looks and personality wise! I go for tall, dark and brooding, but with a dry sense of humour and a hidden kind heart. I really fell for him when he smiled ( dimples, swoon!) and I was head-over-heels when he bought Garcia flowers and wrote her a note, to smooth over Gideon’s faux-pas with her.

23) The team is as its best when it’s Hotch, Rossi, Prentiss, JJ, Morgan, Reid and Garcia, I feel. I liked all the different personalities and thought they all gelled well, so no-one extra needed.

24) Morgan going was sad, then, when I knew Hotch was leaving, I had to stop watching, at the end of Season 11. Emily Prentiss and JJ were also missed when they were away.

25) If Hotch had got a proper goodbye, I might have continued watching!  26) Gideon, for being rude and disrespectful to his team-mates and the other officers/police forces he failed to introduce himself to!  27) Tara or Callahan would have been great, albeit v different unit chiefs!

28) I’d probably be quite a good secretary, keeping the team organised and providing them with hot beverages and food. Or I could look after any children they rescue until their parents/guardians show up.

29) Garcia, for her dress sense and empathy, physical demonstrations of affection. I just wish I had her confidence and technical skill!

30) All by myself! Wish someone was there with me for the jump scares or very violent crimes!

31) Today, currently rewatching and am on Season 5.

32) only watched until the end of Season 11, couldn’t bear the thought of continuing the show without Hotch.

33) More backstories ( Emily’s dad, her childhood etc, JJ and her sister and her dad, Hotch’s mom....) 

34) There were some contradictions about Hotch’s dad’s death that I would have liked to see explained

35) Yes!

36) themetaphorgirl, for her fantastic AUs ( the team as teens/kids at boarding school called Patron Saint of Lost Causes and one where a young Spencer is adopted by Alex Blake and her husband) and lots of fanfiction.net stories. Also SecondChild, Restless Child on AO3!

37) PSOLC, Spencer Blake, Second Child....

38) Yes.

39) I’ve been playing in themetaphorgirl’s sandbox, with a short fic based in the PSOLC universe. I have lots of ideas for that and also want to write Pendlope and Hotch getting together at some point after Season 15 ends!

40) N/A

40 Questions about yourself ✨criminal minds edition✨

I’ve had that idea for a while now and thought it might be interesting so let’s get to know each other better guys 😜

And special thanks to @haleymalaffey because I love you

1. When did you start watching cm?

2. Why did you start watching it?

3. favorite character and why?

4. least favorite character and why?

5. The Most overrated?

6. The Most underrated?

7. Favorite season and why?

8. Least favorite season and why?

9. Best season final?

10. Favorite episode?

11. Least favorite episode?

12. What episode do find most disturbing?

13. Who are you favorite ships?

14. What ship do u hate the most (or simply don’t understand why this even is a ship)

15. Which characters have the best relationship?

16. and which the worst?

17. Who is your favorite serial killer?

18. Did you ever feel empathy/ sympathy for one and if yes why and who?

19. Which character has the best storyline in your opinion?

20. Which character has the best development?

21. Who has the best style?

22. Do you have a crush on one of the characters (or actors) and if yes who is it? 😏

23. Do you think the team is good as it is or is there a special personality missing like a character with a personality that isn’t on the team yet but should be to make it complete?

24. Which of the ex- teammates do you miss the most?

25. Who did deserve better?

26. If you could fire one teammate who would it be?

27. If you could promote one teammate to teamchief who would it be?

28. If you would be on the show, what kind of team member would you be?

29. Is there any character with whom you can identify yourself with?

30. Do (did) you watch it on your own or with someone special?

31. When was the last time you have watched criminal minds?

32. Are you happy with the last episode?

33. If you could change one thing from the show what would it be?

34. When do you think did the writers screwed up (like missed a opportunity or something)

35. Do you read criminal minds fanfiction?

36. If yes then who is your favorite writer?

37. What’s your favorite story?

38. Do you write on you own?

39. If yes of what story are you the most proud of?

40. Joker (in case you have a question that isn’t already listed)

@themetaphorgirl @winterscaptain @uncpanda

REBLOG if you have amazing, talented WRITER friends.

Because I certainly do, and I love every single one of them and their work.

Last song: I have had Popular from Wivked on the brain since I saw the movie, does that count!

Favourite colour: teal, purple and red, but honestly, I like most colours so rainbow 🌈

Last Book: last one I remember was the last volume of The Seven Sisters, which was about the father who adopted the aforementioned seven sisters. It was probably the bes5 book in the series.

Last movie: A French film about Sarah Bernhardt’s life. It was really boring, my dad and I both fell asleep during it!

TV Show: Currently watching Season 19 of Law and Order SVU. I am really enjoying the new characters, especially Carisi. Rollins is great too, she reminds me a little bit of Jeffries ( Munch’s partner in S 1 and 2) and it’s great to have a female friend for Olivia, as well as having anothe4 female character to look up to. Fin continues to be brilliant and I love Olivia a lot. Barba took a while to warm up to, but I think he is pretty great. At first he was v much a serious guy who was there to just do his job and he came across as a bit cold.

Sweet/Savoury/Spicy: I am a spice wimp, so, depending on my mood, either savoury or sweet, though I do always have to finish a meal with a dessert, so mainly sweet.

Relationship Status: chronically single!

Last thing I googled: Peter Scanavino’s age and what his children are called. He’s only a couple of years older than me!

Something I am looking forward to: My niece’s first birthday in May and my parents’ Golden Wedding Anniversary celebration extravaganza with the whole family in August.

tagging @themetaphorgirl @sergle @thestuffedalligator @sequinsmile-x

10 people I'd like to get to know more 🩷

tagged by @jamieroyjamieroy 😘

Last song: Same Old Song by The Lumineers

Fave Color: Orange 🧡

Last Book: I finished: das Kalendermädchen by Sebastian Fitzek; currently reading Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

Last Movie: Deadpool & Wolverine

Last TV Show: NCIS Los Angeles (still watching)

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Sweet 🍩🍨🍦🎂🍰🍫

Relationship Status: Married 💍

Last thing I Googled: how the Deadpool movie was called 🤣🤣

Looking Forward to: visiting concerts and musicals this year❤️

Current Obsession: Lou Ferrigno Jr, Bucktommy

tagging: @profwonderbearthementalista @do-androids-dream-ao3acc @beautifulhigh @de-lphic @investingingrayhairs if you want to 😊😊

Criminal Minds Season 13

The “Wheels up!” scene made me cringe so badly. Fair enough, it was the phrase that got Prentiss through her traumatic experience, but to make everyone else say it was just silly!  Other than that, I am quite enjoying the cases themselves and the interaction between team members is good. Morgan coming back briefly was great, his scenes with Penelope made me cry, but it also made me wish Hotch had been able to come back too. 

if you are an active criminal minds blog please reblog this!! i’ve been finding so many blogs i’ve recognized from my dash and i realized i haven’t been following and i feel so bad???? but yes!! please rb if you’re nice and chill, im tryna find some more mutuals to scream into a void with :)

Law and Order OC Seasons 1 and 2 thoughts

I have just watched the first two seasons of  SVU OC, as I wanted to see the episode when Eli runs away. 

Unfortunately I can only watch the episodes in French, so have to put up with the dubbing, which is not the worst but it could be a lot better.

I don’t really follow the actual crimes part, I mainly watch for the Stabler family interactions, dynamics and development.

 I like Stabler’s new team. Ayanna is great, Jet is super cool ( she seems to be on the autistic spectrum, as she sometimes takes things literally, isn’t very comfortable with touch/affection and goes into hyper focus mode when it comes to work). I love the bond she has with Stabler, he’s very fatherly and protective of her. There’s an episode when he goes to pick Eli up from school and he gives him a fistbump when he tells him he’s made the soccer team, then, either before or after, Jet helps him out with some tech issue or finds out some useful info through cyber digging, and he does the same to her. There’s also a sweet moment when he is talking to Ayanna about protecting his family as they are at risk, and she just sidles over silently and puts her arms around him. Elliot is surprised but pats/rubs her arm in response, then they talk about her fears and he reassures her. 

It reminded me a bit of the Season 1 episode, Nocturne, where he is reading to Lizzie and Dickie, who are about 7. They are climbing all over him and giving him hugs and kisses, and he’s just so patient with them, answering their questions about why it can’t be Christmas every day and being used as a human climbing frame.

He’s definitely more relaxed as a dad with Eli, though he is trying to be a mother and a father to him. He’s much more patient with teen Eli than he was with  Maureen, Dickie and Kathleen when they were teens. He listens before jumping to conclusions when he finds Eli in New Jersey, whereas with the other three, he let his fear and protective side take over, which manifested in anger. 

Like in Swing, Olivia is there to help, which is a neat parallel, and I only just realised that Stabler must be worried that Eli could be bipolar too and that’s why he’s run away because he is in a manic state. 

I really like how he shows his affection for Eli in small ways, like he’ll fix his son’s collar or give him a pat on the shoulder, when he’d really like to hug his son but doesn’t want to demand a hug. He can also be quite playful with him, as after giving him a hug, they tease each other affectionately and Elliot pushes at his face with his hand. 

I also think it’s normal that Eli wants to know more about his grandparents/his roots, as the only grandparent he knows is Bernie, and even then, he doesn’t know her extremely well. Having just lost his mum, he’s trying to figure out who he is, where he is from and where he is going, with lots of changes going on around him, having moved to a new country, a new home, a new school and school system, having to make new friends and also going from having a dad who was around a lot to one who is absent a lot. Eli is also trying to look after Elliot, which he should not be having to do, but he won’t leave to stay with one of his sisters as he doesn’t want to lose his dad as well. 

In Season 6, when Kathy leaves Elliot, she goes to stay with her mom, so we can assume her dad is not in the picture, and, presumably being Catholic too, he’s probably dead, rather than divorced from Kathy’s mum.

Elliot is still super closed off about his past and his relationship with his father, and his feelings are intensified as he investigates the story behind his father’s bravery medal.

Finding out he really did want to be an architect ( he tells Frank about it when they are on a stake-out) but his father knocked the idea out of his head ( probably literally as well as verbally) broke my heart. 

In Season 10, Swing, he outright denies Bernie’s claim that that is what he wanted to be, claiming he’s always wanted to be a cop. 

It shows that Bernie really understood him, she tried to encourage him as best she could and clearly loves him very much. 

They are so much closer in OC, which is lovely to see. They even share a laugh, when she asks him if he’s a phone salesman now as he has a few phones for all the different undercover jobs he’s doing, and he says no, he stole them. They both sarcastically “ha ha” at the other person’s quip, but it is a moment full of affection and understanding.

They also start talking properly, which is a very good thing, and Elliot’s love for his mom and family are very touching. 

The episode where Elliot gets the reels of the recordings of his childhood and watches them with Bernie at the end made me cry, and has lodged itself in my brain. While it was lovely to see Elliot have some sweet moments with his dad, it’s heartbreaking that they couldn’t always have had that, and there must always have been that fear that he’d flip and become physically abusive, like he did in the diorama incident referenced in Season 7 that Elliot tells Dr Hendricks about. Hearing about that left me in tears. Destroying your kid’s project in a fit of rage because they changed one minute detail is just awful, but then beating them for crying too is just unforgivable! 

The dinner scene when Bernie tells Eli about Joe boxing Elliot’s ears, slapping him upside the head and putting soap in his mouth for attitude/disrespect leave Eli absolutely stunned, like he’s seen, heard or read about such punishments in books or films but didn’t think actually happened in real life, as Elliot has never physically disciplined any of his kids like that, and was probably more relaxed/lenient with Eli than he was with the other four children. The only time he comes somewhat close to getting physically aggressive with one of his children is with Dickie in Turmoil ( Season 11), when Stabler asks him if he’s lost his mind and Dickie sasses back that he wouldn’t be the first Stabler to do so, referencing both Bernie and Kathleen’s manic episodes. Elliot shoves Dickie up against the wall, but he quickly lets go and holds then pats or squeezes his shoulder, as if he wants to pull his son in for a hug. 

I like seeing how hard Elliot has worked on not being like his father was, trying so hard to give his children a home life that is predictable and safe, with  boundaries, consistency, encouragement ( when Maureen wants to get into Columbia and is disappointed by a B+, he is so supportive of her and says she’s done/doing great) and he tells his kids he is proud of them and that he loves them regularly. 

His difficulties with technology are very endearing, he usually has to ask Jet for a non technical translation, and his kids have been helping him since Season 1 with computer/phone issues, with Maureen in Season 1 bypassing the parental security lock on the computer and, in Season 8 he mentions that his kids had to help him put the numbers he wanted on speed dial. 

One annoying thing about the show is how the flashbacks at the start of the episode sometimes show an SVU scene, which I haven’t seen, like Kathy’s funeral, for example. It was cool to see Carisi in an episode though, and Olivia is a pretty regular recurring character too. 

Seeing Stabler’s complicated relationship with Liv is so interesting.

Because I am watching in French, there is no ambiguity about who he is saying “I love you” to during the intervention scene, as he uses the singular/informal/friendly you form, then, 20-something seconds later, he says “I love all of you”, using the plural you form this time. 

It was so interesting to see Eli try first, then Kathleen ( the kids he is closest to and the ones he talks to/confides in the most), but they both fail, so Olivia steps in. She actually stands in front of the children, as if to protect them from Elliot’s potentially angry outburst.

Her chat at the diner with Kathleen was really moving, it reminded me of when Liv talks to Bernie in Swing.

I’m looking forward to watching the next three seasons to see how everything plays out. 

Hotch and the Hotchlings, in themetaphorgirl’s criminal minds boarding school au ( PSOLC)