Welcome to the archive of all things queer & Criminal Minds. Check out the pinned post and have a look while you're here.
Ask Box is open for QM headcanons and fic recs
Queerminal Minds started out in July 2015. The origin post was my (@blackbird-brewster) reply to getting an Anon that said “Stop making Criminal Minds Gay!”. In the years following, QM grew to become a pretty popular tag in the CM fandom, complete with everything from head canons, to fanart, fanfic and more. It is simply a celebration of all things Queer and Criminal Minds!
Who can use the tag?
Anyone and everyone! Anything that's gay and Criminal Minds can be part of this tag. Basically, Queerminal Minds is for all of the LGBTQPIA+ fans of Criminal Minds
Why are you making an archive?
The main reason is because I'm passionate about digital archivism and Tumblr's reblog system has always made this a living website where posts can live on, even long after blogs have been deactivated.
Beginning in November 2023, my plan is to dig through old QM posts of years past and reblog them all into this archive. There's currently a whole new era of CM fans joining tumblr and I think it's important to re-circulate old posts back into the fandom so these newer fans can enjoy stuff from the past ten years without having to go mining through thousands of posts on their own.
Can I send in my personal headcanons or links to my own posts I'd like to be added to this archive?
Always! The ask box is open for all of your Queerminal Minds thoughts. I'd also love links to posts to add to the archive. I'm only one person and although I'm trying to be thorough, it'd be impossible for me to find every single QM post without help from you all.
How do I navigate the archive?
I've tried to use a simple, central, tagging method to make browsing this site easy and accessible. Each post will be tagged with the following identifiers which can be filtered, depending on what type of post you're looking for.
Basic Tags on Every Post:
URL of the OP - without punctuation (Ex: Blackbird-brewster will be tagged as #Blackbirdbrewster)
Individual Characters (if applicable)
Ships (if applicable)
Year of the original post (Format: YYYY)
Tags for Each Type of Post:
#Text Post Meme (Ex: The original QM series)
#QM ## (indicates the post's order in the QM text series)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Relationship: Jennifer Jareau/Tara Lewis/Emily Prentiss
Rated: Mature || WC: 5972 || Series: Fooled Around AU
Tagging: @polyamships
Summary:
JJ, Tara, and Emily celebrate their one year anniversary as a throuple.
The [Fooled Around AU] is a wholesome, queer rom-com, with a healthy dose of polyamory.
Author's Note: Today, 22 July 2025, marks both the THREE YEAR anniversary of Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) - Part 1 and subsequently, my return to writing fanfic after a seven year hiatus.
What better way to celebrate this triumphant series, than to write the OT3 celebrating their first anniversary together?!
More sentimental rambling below the cut...
When I was first writing FAAFIL, I had no intention of it being anything other than the one fic. Of course, I quickly realised these characters had a lot more story left to tell. FAAFIL 2 was written within a month of the first part.
Then, in 2023 I added FAAFIL 3 which wound up being a whopping 218,000 words long! FA3 remains my longest fic of all-time, more than double the length of the second longest of my works. And yet, I still had more story to tell within this world.
With the Prelude (Primed for Love) and the First Interlude (Ready for Your Love), I explored new aspects of some of the series' background characters, such as Will, Penelope, Luke, and Derek.
Now, I'm sharing this one-shot as a celebration of the three year anniversary of this series. This new piece is as much for me, as it is for all of you, wonderful, kind, FA readers.
For three years, I have been blown away by the support and excitement you've all showed for this series. I never thought people would want to read such a niche rom-com AU, but all of you incredible readers proved me wrong time and time again. Thank you for coming along on this journey, I cannot fully express my gratitude to all of you.
I hope you'll all join me in celebrating three magnificently queer years of the Fooled Around AU and all of the stories contained within... and the FA stories that are yet to be told. ; )
Stop making criminal minds gay! Emily is straight, JJ is with Will, Spencer was with Maeve, Garcia is with Kevin. Not everyone is gay!!! Stop trying to make something happen that's not true!!
Oh, salty anon is salty!! Let’s talk about this, like adults. Awesome, sassy, GAY, adults.
Emily has never come out and said “I’m straight” (neither have any of the other characters for that matter….soooo I could just stop there but I won’t) The only time Emily has talked about dating she is adamantly talking AGAINST dating men. In the episode where she’s talking about having a date she simply says “You don’t understand I’m a nerd!” and never mentions the sex of her date. In 5x21 she and JJ are talking about a guy Emily met and JJ is saying “Oh he sounds just your type.” and Emily makes the biggest eye roll and shrug about it. In 52 Pickup Hotch is worried about Emily going to the bar and she says, “Viper? I’ve dated worse people than him” NOT men, but PEOPLE. Also there is the fact that Emily was SUPPOSED to be canonly queer but CBS nixed the idea. Not to mention she enjoys the fashion of cargo pants, combat boots, oxfords and over sized belts. Don’t even get me started on all the times she stares at JJ longingly. Emily is a lesbian.
You’re right! JJ is with Will. But here’s the magic about bisexuals (now this is top secret so don’t go spreading it around the internet) BIsexual means BOTH genders. Just because she’s married to Will DOES NOT mean she can’t also be attracted to women. She also longingly stares at Emily numerous times over the years. She can be married to a man and still appreciate Emily. JJ is bisexual.
Spencer Reid is straight you’re right. But he’s not heterosexual. Confused? That’s fine, I’ll go slowly. Asexual persons do not experience sexual attraction but this does not mean all asexuals do not experience romantic attraction. Spencer loved Maeve, that is 100% accurate. But he has never outwardly shown sexual attraction to the few women he has had romantic encounters with. He can be heteroromantic and want to kiss and cuddle his partners without wanting to have sex with them. Spencer is Asexual Heteroromantic.
Garica is with Kevin. Again, good job! You’ve been paying attention. But again, just because someone is in an opposite sex relationship does not make them straight. Penelope experiences attraction to ALL genders, female/male/non-binary. Penelope loves everyone! She is a sparkly perky unicorn and does not discriminate when looking for a mate. Penelope is pansexual.
Derek, Derek is straight. So you’re good there. Well…he’s heterosexual but he’s still biromantic.
So anyway, point being you’re right about one thing. I don’t think anyone on this show is GAY. Because I don’t think any of the males are homosexual. But I know that everyone else has their own letter in the LGBTQPIA alphabet soup.
Celebrating TEN YEARS of Queerminal Minds 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
I can't believe it's been a whole decade since I received this Anon, which wound up sparking an entire subsection of the Criminal Minds fandom.
I never imagined my silly little tag would still be something adored and loved ten years later. I am forever humbled and in awe of the amazing writers, artists, gif makers, headcanon engineers, and everyone in between who have contributed to this tag over the years.
In continued celebration of 2025 being the #Year of the Rare Pair, I wanted to make this CM polyam femslash rec list for all the other multi-shippers out there!
Looking for more CM Polyam Fics? [Check Out the AO3 Collection]
OT3: Je T'Emily
(Jennifer Jareau / Tara Lewis / Emily Prentiss)
Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) - Part 1
Series: Fooled Around AU
Author: w00t4ewan | Rated: M | WC: 81,000
Summary:
Jennifer Jareau had the perfect life. She worked in an elite sector of the FBI known as the behavioural analysis unit. She had just married the love of her life, Will LaMontagne. She had everything she could have ever dreamed of—
Or so she thought. JJ’s personal trainer, Emily Prentiss, managed to upturn everything JJ had thought she wanted.
So what will JJ do about it?
Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) - Part 2
Series: Fooled Around AU
Author: w00t4ewan | Rated: E | WC: 88,000
Summary:
Tara and JJ work together and have always been friends, now they also share a girlfriend. It's been nine months since Emily Prentiss began dating Tara Lewis and Jennifer Jareau. The three of them have become incredibly tight knit but JJ and Tara realise their friendship has been shifting towards something...more.
There are plenty of reasons why they shouldn't journey into this new territory but the heart wants what the heart wants.
False Flags and the Art of Misdirection
Author: w00t4ewan | Rated: T | WC: 12,000
Summary:
There was no doubt the case in Roswell was a strange one, but for three members of the BAU in particular, all the talk of secrets, conspiracies and cover-ups felt a bit too familiar, because upon their return, Tara, JJ and Emily found themselves wrapped up in their own web of lies, romance, and misdirection.
And just like in Roswell, not everything was exactly how it seemed. [Takes place following 13x09 'False Flag']
Unwinding
Author: Pepperspicedlatte | Rated: E | WC: 4100
Summary:
Emily comes home after a long day at work and JJ and Tara are more than willing to help her feel better.
OT3: Did You Say Girlfriend?
(Jennifer Jareau / Tara Lewis / Rebecca Wilson)
Cut to the Feeling
Author: w00t4ewan | Rated: E | WC: 19,400
Summary:
When JJ finds out Tara has a girlfriend, she's surprised when this announcement causes her to feel an overwhelming sense of jealousy. In her attempt to ask Tara about her relationship status, JJ accidentally admits far more than she ever intended, leaving Tara feeling confused and slightly intrigued at the idea of what she and JJ might have had together -- if not for the fact Tara is happily dating Rebecca.
Company
Sequel to 'Cut to the Feeling'
Author: w00t4ewan | Rated: E | WC: 4750
Summary:
After an extremely stressful week, all Rebecca wants is to do on Friday night is go home to Tara and relax. But when JJ opens the front door, instead of her girlfriend, Rebecca fears those plans are completely ruined. Little does she know, Tara and JJ are about to make sure she has the best night of her life.
OT3: Pentemily
(Penelope Garcia / Tara Lewis / Emily Prentiss)
Screwed
Author: w00t4ewan | Rated: M | WC: 1575
Summary:
Penelope is the undefeated champion in Mario Kart and she never turns down the opportunity to beat her girlfriend. However, tonight, Tara has a plan that will ensure she finally ends her girlfriend's winning streak.
Tara has found herself in a sort of 'situationship' with Penelope. They're not dating, but they're also not-not dating. After months of this routine, Penelope finally decides to address the sexual tension, by undressing Tara.
There might be a chance of making their relationship work, they just need to work out a few kinks first.
Love Abundant
Author: sweetmidnights | Rated: G | WC: 2150
Summary:
The team had a hard case and Penelope welcomes home her girlfriends with the softest, most loving gestures she could think of.
I Had the best Day With You
Author: alreadyaccepted | Rated: G | WC: 1750
Summary:
Penelope, Tara, and Emily go to the fair together and Emily gets so excited she starts regressing.
Emily has spent the first 50 years of her life sure that she is straight; she has to be, right? Except, no one else thinks she is. How will a whiskey night with Tara lead to some introspection that will change her life?
Series: Age of Pleasure | Pre-cursor to polyam OT4
Author: w00t4ewan | Rated: E | WC: 74,100
Summary:
After Rebecca and Emily have an extremely unexpected and ill-advised one-night-stand, they have to navigate working together while trying to prevent their secret from getting out.
Meanwhile, Tara is still holding onto the hope she and Rebecca can reconcile their differences and get back together. And JJ isn't coping after finding out about the website related to her, but the one woman she wishes would notice how much she's struggling is the same woman who hid the site from her in the first place.
Can the four women get through the Gold Star investigation without succumbing to the secrets, lies, and jealousy woven into their complicated relationships with each other?
The Rush
Series: The Age of Pleasure
Author: w00t4ewan | Rated: E | WC: 9200
Summary:
The arrangement was unusual, but definitely not unheard of. It began like these things usually do, a group of four friends (made up of two couples) had a bit too much to drink one night, they got a little flirty with each other, and someone, none of them could recall who (though, the the Brat of the group would naturally take credit for the idea), decided to finally address the sexual tension in the room.
Five months after closing the Gold Star case, JJ, Tara, and Rebecca give Emily a birthday she'll never forget.
Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) - Part 3
Series: Fooled Around AU
Author: w00t4ewan | Rated: E | WC: 219,000
Summary:
When JJ/Tara/Emily decide to buy a house together, Tara volunteers to renovate it into their perfect dream home. In order to follow through on her promise, Tara enlists the help of a general contractor, Beck Wilson -- but Beck's construction skills aren't the only thing that garners Tara's attention.
JJ, Tara, and Emily, must find a way to navigate all of the changes in their lives while keeping their relationship afloat. Will unexpected feelings, secrets, and jealousy threaten the foundation of everything they've worked hard to build?
A historical moment in CM history! As the first canon queer couple in 20 years of Criminal Minds, Tara and Rebecca were already trailblazers, getting this beautiful on-screen proposal will forever be an important part of this fandom's history. 🥳🏳️🌈💍
