X-Men: First Class, Fanfic Recs
I saw X-Men: First Class two weeks ago and the fandom has been eating my brain ever since. I'll start by saying that it's probably my favorite of all the X-Men movies. That's not hard to do, really, since the first one was probably the only one that I truly enjoyed up until now. I seem to vaguely remember liking the second movie, but the third was crushingly disappointing, and Origins: Wolverine was just...terribly mediocre.
I'll start by saying that I don't usually enjoy 'prequel' stories simply because I already KNOW the ending. It's not like there's going to be any real surprise in a story about Erik and Charles since, assuming any familiarity with the canon at all, you already know that they will be Magneto and Professor X. It's not like you'll get to the end of the movie and yell, "Wow! I never saw that coming!"
Despite the above, this is not a rec for the movie. Either you'll see it and love it, or you will not. This is, instead, a rec for all the LOVELY fanfiction that I've been reading in this fandom.
Everything I'm reading is Charles/Erik, so everything I'm going to rec is going to be Charles/Erik slash. There may be perfectly wonderful other 'ships out there, but I don't care. This is one of those rare fandoms where this slash pairing seems like canon and every other pairing seems weak. It's not to say that there aren't reasonable het pairings in the canon, but to be honest, they both felt a bit more like beards than potential love interests. These two characters are just SO enamored of one another. This is also a fandom that makes you really want to FIX the canon with fanfic. So, if you haven't seen the movie, don't read any of the stories because there will be spoilers for events in the movie, the ending, and the entire canon throughout. Of course, if you haven't seen the movie, I can't imagine why you'd be looking at fanfic recs for it.
Recruitment Road Trip Fics:
The Heart's Dark Crossroads by ginbitch NC-17, Author Summary: This fic was originally written for a fic-exchange prompt by splintercaton erik_charleswhich asked for Erik and Charles bonding during the mutant collecting tour, getting to know each other, etc. with a request for first time sex, philosophical discussion, time period relevant detail and Charles being a nerd. The prompter concluded "I like happy endings".
This is a perfectly reasonable fill-in-the-blank story, with a nice heaping tablespoon of lovely smut. It's satisfying and happy.
Cotton Walls by toestastegood. Rated: Explicit. Author Summary: In large crowds, Charles finds it difficult to control his telepathy. While they're on their recruitment road trip, Erik tries to help.
I'm sort of a sucker for stories centering around Charles' telepathy. So much of the film is about Erik's struggle to master his gifts that Charles' gifts get ignored.
Baby, It's Just a State of Mind by confusedkayt Not Rated by author. WIP. 6 chapters posted so far. Summary: There's an awful lot going on in these United States in the swinging sixties, even apart from the wide world of mutations Charles is itching to explore. Add in a fascinating travel companion with the grooviest of mutations and it's a road trip to remember.
This is a great story with some wonderful UST moving towards resolution. It's a great read and is complete as of 10/13/11 at 7 chapters.
Post Beach Divorce or Tags, if you prefer:
Intervention by AlchemyAlice Rated T - Author Summary: Written for 1stclass_kink: "Emma knows Erik has a thing for Charles. She can't read Charles but she saw how much Charles cares for Erik. After the falling out and when Emma notices Erik is pining (she's an intuitive woman, helmet or no), she sends Charles a message -- 'Fix him. We can't take over the world if he's so lovesick.' Then she gets Azazel to teleport Erik and Charles to an island so they can make up and make out."
...except then it ended up a lot less funny than that. Basically, this is my post-divorce catharsis fic, because their love is so star-crossed and epic and sadface that I had to fix it, if only partially/not at all. Yeah. Life ruiners, indeed. *facepalm*
The summary makes it sound as if the story was meant to be light-hearted but it isn't. It's actually quite poignant. I don't like saying angsty if only because it's cathartic rather than depressing. A truly satisfying tag for a rather unsatisfying canon ending.
FIX IT stories, or Alternate Endings/AUs if you prefer:
Undone by Yahtzee Rating: Explicit, Author Summary: Post-X3 Charles, instead of transfering his consciousness to the coma guy, finds his mind back in the body of his younger self, right after Shaw's attack on the CIA compound, on their way to the mansion. The thing: Charles' wants to fix what happened with Erik, but he can't bring himself to do it. He knows that this younger Erik can't be held responsible for his future self's actions, but, nonetheless, here is the man who will paralyze him, who will leave him on the beach, who will turn his sister into a merciless killer. Here is the man who will betray him in the worst way possible, by using him as a tool, a weapon, in his quest to kill all the humans. So Charles blows cool and hot towards Erik, and Erik is left wondering where all the UST went and why Charles is suddenly so...emotionally distant, even when they're spending more time together than they used to.
Despite the fact that there's reference to the other X-Men movies in the summary, you really do not have to have seen them to understand the story. The story itself explains everything in context. It's a porny little thing, but full of wonderful angst.
Time to Grow by zarah5 Rating M Author Summary: In which you'll find chess dates which aren't dates (or maybe Charles is wrong about that). -- Based on First Class, this turns (slightly) AU during the beach scene
This one fixes things in a manner that doesn't feel like a cop out. It sticks to the canon as closely as possible (something I respect), but abolishes the tragedy that is the ending. A+ in my book.
Not Half As Blinding by keire_ke Rated T+ Summary: Cuban Beach AU. Charles discovers that death, does in fact, solve everything.
That's all for now, just because copy/pasting and linking is frustrating. I'll add more. There are MANY great stories in this fandom. At least, in the Erik/Charles 'ship, there are.