Criminal Minds Fanfic: Step Up (Part 1 of 3)

[impulsiveanswer]

Title: Step Up
Part: 1 of 3
Pairing: Reid/Hotch
Characters: (in this part): Reid, Rossi, and Hotch; (in the whole story): Reid, Hotch, Rossi, Jessica, and a cameo by Jack
Rating: (this part): T; (entire story): M
Warnings: Slash, angst, some fluff (not really in this part)
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds - there'd be some boy-kissing in every

Comments

[enmuse]

Spender whumping! :3

I like that you acknowledge that Reid does/did have a reasonable self-esteem, but this grief has unsettled that. As much as I think there's emotional issues with his isolation and inability to connect well with people, I don't think he often acknowledges that and by and large accepts himself for who he is. But in this situation, in the aftermath of such a significant loss, it fits very well to have things falling apart.

I love a protective Rossi.

I had to cheer at your interpretation of Gideon. His leaving created a good bit of animosity on my part; he's a very flawed character.

I'm really looking forward to the next part! :D

Additional Note: It's Las Vegas, not Los.
In general, I'd also recommend another proofread for a couple spots, but I think you caught most things. :)

[impulsiveanswer]

Fixed! Honestly, I probably could have edited this for a month and still missed the "Las-not-Los" parts - while I'm sure it's a great city, I've never really been interested in Vegas and I guess I've never paid close attention to the correct spelling.

Reid's an adult and a part of being an adult is finding a sort of peace with yourself, but he definitely has his regrets - especially when it comes to his mother. I think in terms of his isolation and inability to connect with other he'd *like* to change but honestly doesn't know how, and he's chosen to make do with it because most of the time he can get away with it.

There's no Rossi like a protective Rossi, is there? :) I understand this probably puts me in the minority, but I actually like him more than I like Gideon.

Thank you! I'll hopefully post the next part by the end of the week.

[enmuse]

I adore Rossi, and definitely like him more than Gideon. I mean, Rossi can be a right bastard, but he's up front about it and in the end, I see him as being able to man up and adjust to be there for the people he cares about. He's learned how to be part of a team. Gideon couldn't ever open up that way to function within a "team of friendship" (seeing as he was fine in the professional sense).

Ha! Well now I'm inspired to try work again on Shook the Bones. :3 Nothing like good fic (for my OTP - yyyyaaaaayyyy!) to get a writer goin'. I'll keep an eye open for the next part. Good luck!

[impulsiveanswer]

I swear to God, five seconds before I checked my Livejournal comments I was on my favorites page at FF.net, reading "Shook the Bones"! I hope you try working on it again - I'd love to read more!

[sin_of_pride]

You did an excellent job here, characterization-wise with both Reid and Rossi. You describe very well the lack of emotional and social support Reid has and the wear that brings down on anyone, particularly in times of great stress like the death of a family memeber. The hints of Reid being afraid to grieve properly because he's afraid of how far down he'll crumble are superb. And yay for Rossi taking on the protective role! Reid absolutely needs it (both here and in canon, honestly). I'm absolutely looking forward to reading the rest of this, great work!

[impulsiveanswer]

Thank you so much! Reid tries very hard to keep control of his mind and emotions all the time and it's interesting to explore what's going on below the surface. And it's definitely canon that Rossi has the protective instinct in him - we saw it in "Damaged". Outside of Hotch/Reid, my favorite pairing to read is the Reid/Rossi friendship.

[fishwrites]

Um, so I am a complete stranger to the fandom. I had to google "criminal minds" to work out who the characters and what BAU was.

And I must say, I think it is a HUGE kudos to you that someone with no backstory, no attachment to the characters and other emotional knowledge which usually makes fanfiction successful, can connect with your rendering like this. *snaps fingers*. Reid's grief is also palpable,it's so raw it made my heart ache and eyes tear up. The relationships is just so well written, I feel like I've been in this fandom forever and know these characters inside out - and that's just with each piece of dialogue and each piece of thought you're writing here.

I just think it's amazing writing, to be able to do that.

I love how time is liquid in this; how the pacing slows and speeds up depending on emotion, Reid's inner dialogue and how the PoV's switch. Smoothly done.

I will be following this story. <3 Thank you for writing!

[impulsiveanswer]

Wow, thank you! I think that's the best compliment an author can get.

[travelinthedark]

awww poor reid. i can totally see him responding to his mother's death like this, too.

and Rossi would tell him that he’d get through this and Spencer would believe him because Rossi always spoke the truth. made me smile, because rossi is awesome, and you're portraying him as awesome and that makes me happy.

[impulsiveanswer]

I ADORE Rossi. He can be so flip one minute and caring the next and it all comes across as sincere.

A big part of Reid is defined by his relationship with his mother; to not have her there anymore would totally leave the rest of his life on shaky ground. It would be interesting to see how they'd deal with it on the show (which is definitely an option, now that Jane Lynch is otherwise occupied!).

Thanks for reading!

[diemme]

I'm glad I came to this fic late because now I can hop straight to the second part.

I love that you addressed the woeful ineptitude of Reid's dad. I was a bit boggled at how cavalierly the show's writers treated Reid's anger over his abandonment. Giving fiercely protective Morgan a line like "you're determined to make him a monster..." felt way out of character for him. William Reid was a monster for leaving his child alone with his mentally unstable mother!

And now I'm going to read the second part before I descend into incoherence.

[impulsiveanswer]

That always bothered me too. All the other characters seemed to have attitudes ranging from "hey, be grateful he's been putting your name into a search engine from time to time" to "stop being angry - it's not like he's a murderous pedophile!" Reid definitely has something to be angry about - the man was less than 10 minutes away as his son struggled for 8 years to deal with his life and his mother before making the wrenching decision to put her in a hospital. I think in a way it would have been better for Spencer if William Reid turned out to be a murderous pedophile, because then he could have the knowledge that he was better off not having his father around.

Thanks for reading - I hope you enjoy the rest!