Proof that the remaining 10% is worth dying for.
These are recommendations made by Tropers for Criminal Minds, all of which have to be signed to stay on the page. Feel free to add a fanfic of your own to the list, but remember to use the template found here.
You can also add to the current recommendations if you want. Refrain from posting Conversation in the Main Page though; that goes in the discussion page.
Take Seven
by Hagar
- Recommended by: genisgone
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Seven oneshots in Five Things format about the daily lives of the BAU and the team as a family. All of these can be read as stand alone stories, but together form a larger narrative illustrating the team's developing closeness and the changes they go through. It's probably set at some point between seasons three and five or season seven, given the characters involved.
- Pairing(s): None.
- Recommended by: genisgone, Sandy87
- Status: Dormant
- Synopsis: A truly hilarious collection of oneshots devoted to our favorite geeky FBI agents. Morgan makes the mistake of engaging Reid and Garcia in a conversation about apocalypses of the undead variety, and it all goes downhill from there. Certain to make you laugh, though some of the jokes are more obscure than others... This seems to be current through to about midway through season seven, though the last piece goes off canon after that.
- Pairing(s): mild Kevin/Garcia, but it's rarely in focus
Chaos Theory by Chloe Winchester
- Recommended by: sedna
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Set in season 2 of the series, Reid has been missing for two years when the BAU finally find him again, broken and terrified. The team must manage to keep their heads as they hunt the monster who tormented Reid and try to help the young profiler get back on his feet as best they can. Well written, albeit very dark and for a mature audience (some parts get pretty graphic). The characters are well grasped and they feel like their originals from Criminal Minds.
- Pairings: None.
Voices Of The Forgotten by b-mystique
- Recommended by Zadia
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: A brilliant examination of three characters who departed and left no traces behind them, and why exactly this came about.
- Pairings: None
TLC by Cat Jenkins
- Recommended by: Ansela
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Hotch falls seriously ill, and the fallout leads to some long-needed mental healing for the BAU's leader, with a little help from his friends. Hotch-centric with a lot of input from Rossi, Morgan and a well-crafted OC. There's angst, hurt/comfort and even some humour mixed in.
- Pairings: None
After The Tone by Marauder In Disguise
- Recommended by: hpfan4ever
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Thirteen messages left over five years. Garcia attempts to reach Gideon and inform him of the tragedies that befall the team as they occur. For anyone who can't quite accept that the team will never see Gideon again, that he could just leave them.
- Warnings: Goes AU at the end(written mid-season seven.)
- Pairing: Garcia/Kevin but not a major part of the story.
- Recommended by: ThisIsRidiculous
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: But he can talk (almost all the time), feed himself (although he hangs a sign on his bathroom door prompting him to make himself dinner), and work like a functional adult. (He doesn’t need to ask for accommodations. He’ll be Just Fine.)
- Pairings: None.
- Recommended by: error-cascade
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Hotch made a promise when he found a very young agent on his team: he would save this one person. But as the years wear on, more often he finds himself standing by as Reid is strangled, drowned, kidnapped. And it's hard to save Reid when he has no idea why he should be worth saving.
draw an invisible picture for me by bittereternity
- Recommended by: error-cascade
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: "Before my first date with Maeve, I had a hairbrush in my hand and a staring contest with my mirror for a full ten minutes,” Reid informs. “I was vastly overwhelmed by my own lack of impressiveness.”As he tries to come to terms with Maeve's death, Reid decides that Hotch is the perfect person to be his impromptu grief counselor. Too bad no one thought about informing Hotch.
Left to the Cold by Maeve_of_Winter
- Recommended by: error-cascade
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Spencer Reid is struggling after his torture at the hands of Tobias Hankel. Will the BAU be able to help him recover? Is Reid willing to let them in?
- Recommended by: mockingjay
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: "Every pain is a lesson." ― Frank Delaney. The team must be reminded of this fact once again. Takes place between "Nelson's Sparrow" and "Hero Worship".
Love Is Pain: by Pavlovringsabell https://m.fanfiction.net/s/12660143/1/Love-Is-PainRecommended by: flamingmidasStatus: incompletePairings: Hotch/OCComments: this fic offers a glimpse into the life of the Hotchner family after Aaron leaves the BAU. Deals with female on male sexual abuse. Homophobic hate crimes. Murder. Unplanned pregnancy. Attempted suicide.
Dumb and Ditzy by TimelessTears
- Recommended by: Furor Nocturna
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: AU. Years of being bullied for his smarts left him dreading when people figured out he was a genius. What better way to throw them off then by acting stupid? Enter: Dumb Blond Spencer Reid.
- Pairings: None
- Comments: This is bar none one of the funniest AU stories and CM fanfiction a this troper has ever had the pleasure of reading. The premise is every bit as hilarious as it sounds, and it's executed brilliantly not only in its laugh out loud humor, but heart as well. This is a must-read, especially for Reid fans.
The Intelligence Control and Analysis Program by inkandpaperqwerty
- Recommended by: error-cascade
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Agent Aaron Hotchner couldn't ask for better agents than David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Emily Prentiss, and Jennifer Jereau. In fact, he prides himself on heading the best team the BAU has to offer. Still, he's not so arrogant he doesn't know when it's time to call for help, so when his team hits a brick wall with a ticking clock, he reaches out to the Intelligence Control and Analysis Program. ICAP sends him a mountain of files, all of them good candidates, but Hotch is repeatedly drawn to the same file. Genius #2036334-4383 has three doctorates and a high success rate with the Bureau, though he's never been in the field. According to his file, Genius doesn't play well with others, but Hotch doesn't see that posing much of a problem. Besides, it's a temporary arrangement. What's the worst that could happen?
- Pairings: None
The Profiler and the Nurse: Book One by ahowell1993
- Recommended by: Knk 6700
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: 19-year-old Spencer Reid receives some heartbreaking news. Two days later he meets Clarissa Hotchner who instantly helps Spencer cope over the tragedy he has to deal with while Clarissa and her oldest brother helps him figure out what to do with his life after college. Pre-season 1 to Revelations. AU Spencer's not at risk for schizophrenia and Hotch has two siblings.
- Parings: Reid/OC
- Comments: This is an amazingly written book that really adds something to the series that I was not really expecting. It is really sweet and I almost wish this was real because I just love Clarissa so much. This is only the first of book in the series as well. As of May 2020, Book two is completed and Book three is still in progress. It is a wonderful series. I really enjoy it and it is super cute.
- Warnings: There are sexual references later on in the story.
Is This Your Card? by Merry Arwen
- Recommended by: genisgone
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: The story is told in fragments that detail the moments in Reid's life as he develops a relationship with Austin, the barkeeper from 52 Pickup. The fic snippets are mostly fluffy vignettes that flesh out a one-shot character incredibly and give the two of them a realistic, believable relationship. It's set during the latter half of season four and ambiguously throughout season five, and there are incidental but major spoilers for early season five as well.
- Pairing: Reid/Austin (the barkeeper from 52 Pickup)
Morally Indefensible by blythechild
- Recommended by: thebootyprincess
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: In this alternate version of present day, Reid is a disgraced, former FBI agent from the White Collar Crime division who has been wrongfully convicted of the brutal murder of his partner, Elle Greenaway. Sent to a federal penitentiary and thrown in amongst other killers, he doesn't expect to survive too long until he catches the attention of a mercurial thief and gang leader named Hotch. Hotch offers Reid protection but he expects much in return, and ropes Reid into a paranoid plan to oust the prison warden. The more Reid sees of Hotch, the less he trusts him, and the more he realizes that his life is no longer his to control. Who do you trust when everyone is out for themselves, and how far will you go to ensure your own survival?
- Pairing: Reid/Hotch
A Consensu Theory of Truth by NorthernStar
- Recommended by: error-cascade
- Status: Abandoned
- Synopsis: After a harrowing case, Dr Reid goes missing. He's found 3 days later with little memory of what happened to him. As the team begin to piece together events, Reid struggles to reconcile his growing knowledge and Morgan finds the details are reawakening painful memories of his own. Novel length case-fic set across several years.
- Pairing: Reid/Morgan
For Laughs by Slinky-and-the-Bloody Wands (Batman Crossover)
- Recommended by: Tempus Corvus, feral, Jonn
- Status: Complete
- Pairings: None
- Synopsis: Set after The Dark Knight. The BAU comes to Gotham to help catch The Joker after he escapes from Arkham. But if they want to catch The Joker, they'll need to profile The Batman.
- Comment: I'd never seen an episode of Criminal Minds the first time I read this. So after watching some of the show, I went back. It's amazing how well Slinky writes the characters from both TDK and CM. I really cannot recommend this highly enough. Just read it.
- I like the fic, though the narration and dialogue can be a bit awkward at times. No problem otherwise. —Jonn
Resonations of What's Left of Us by Deejaymil
- Recommended by: tafferling
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: "She never expected to fall in love. He never expected to be taken from her. Neither of them expected to change the world. " This series is about Emily Prentiss and Spencer Reid being more than they've been made to be, and then a little bit more still. Built from two finished parts, Endling and Darkling, and brings the BAU alive in a vivid, beautifully crafted urban fantasy setting complete with magic, fantasticial creatures, and shattered dreams. Heavy AU, focused around the events beginning and not quite ending with Foyet, with the Criminal Minds written true to their source material, and OCs blending in naturally.
- Pairings: Reid/Prentiss
- Comment: I'd forgotten all about Criminal Minds until I read "Endling", which reminded me of how amazing the characters of the show were and had me binge watch all available episodes. The mix of original urban fantasy and CM is intoxicating!
Officially, This Didn't Happen by Fitz
- Recommended by: ThisIsRidiculous
- Crossover with: Supernatural
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: An unplanned late night visit to the cemetery results in an unexpected confrontation. There is not enough alcohol in the world to erase this crap.
- Recommended by: ThisIsRidiculous
- Crossover with: Supernatural
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Dean and Sam are on the trail of a demon in Arkansas. Behaving a lot like a serial killer. Enough that it attracts the attention of the BAU. Because more attention from law enforcement is, of course, exactly what Sam wanted in his life.
by practicalsome- Recommended by: ihe
- Crossover with: Supernatural
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: Garcia had decided that the most terrifying cases involve child killers or delusional fanatics. Then came the case where the child killer was supernatural, and the delusional fanatics were the Winchester brothers. When members of the BAU happen to get in the way of their investigation, the Winchester brothers have to flee, taking the agents and a honesty curse with them. They didn't expect to need the agents help breaking the curse. When Hotch and Reid get kidnapped by the serial killing Winchesters, they were prepared to do everything to survive. They didn’t expect everything to include family dinners or gambling in Las Vegas.
- Comment: This is one of the best criminal minds and supernatural crossover I have ever read. No one was out of character. The alterning point of view add a lot of depth, and is especially enjoyable if you like outsider pov.
- The work is complete and has a sequel Reality Results .
by Marcus Gaudry- Recommended by: ihe
- Crossover with: Dexter
- Status: Complete
- Synopsis: When three chopped up bodies are discovered on the beach of a small town in Maine, the BAU suspect they may be dealing with a copycat of the infamous Bay Harbor Butcher from Miami.
- Comment: This is the best criminal minds and dexter crossover I have ever read. it's a hidden gem and definitly worth a read. The work is ~ 60'000 words long and has multiple sequels.
- The sequels in order : Crush , Revelations ,Informed Consent . All of them save informed content( who was last updated in october 2020) are complete.
by MagnoliaTurtle- Recommended by: moonlightsaltshaker
- Crossover with: Danny Phantom
- Status: In-Progress
- Synopsis: The BAU is sent to Amity Park to deal with a possible Serial Killer. Too bad no one told them that their Unsub was already dead.
- Comment: Never expected to find a crossover between these two fandoms. The author is having one hell of a good time and the story is a fun read (so far).
