Fic: A Christmas Carol (2/4)

[leandralocke]

Title: A Christmas Carol (2/4)
Fandom/Pairing: X-Men: First Class, Charles/Erik
Genre: Drama/Romance
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4,521
Summary: Around Christmas 1962, Erik gets a nightly visit by a strange woman with extraordinary abilities who claims to be the Ghost of Christmas - Past, Present and Future. Despite his objections - after all, such

Comments

[citizenjess]

TBH, I'm kind of leery about the whole "it's only psychosomatic!" thing; it not only implies that Charles is somehow blameworthy for his paralysis, but also that Erik's love is going to 'save' him from it, which ... hopefully you can see why that's problematic. I'm at least interested to see where the last couple of chapters go - it's a cute story otherwise - but I admit that that bothered me.

[leandralocke]

Hm I dunno, it probably depends on how you see it. I don't think someone that suffers a psychosomatic effect of a traumatic experience is in any way to blame for it. The brain can react like any other body part, when "injured", whether that's physically or psychologically. People who have ADHD or are bipolar, for example, are not to be blamed for their condition either. But that's probably not what you were implying here. Was it the self-blame bit

[citizenjess]

"I think it's quite clear what my intention was with making it psychosomatic. Charles has been left by the two people he loved most, actually he SENT them away (which he did once again, at least in Raven's case, because he thought it was best for her), and he blames himself terribly for it. That loss is the reason for his paralysis. So, as a conclusion, if that somehow were to change..."

This was the point I was trying to make: Charles being bitter/sad about his paralysis is quite different from the author saying, "the only way Charles can be a whole person again is if his injury were to go away completely." Like, he and Erik can't possibly have a happy ending if Charles is in a wheelchair. It's not the kitsch that bothers me - I wouldn't have read a Christmas story if it did? - but the ableism.

[leandralocke]

Hm, yeah, not sure what I can say about that. I just prefer Charles to be whole, mentally and physically. I know it's canon and has been canon for... ever. And I see why someone like Professor X is a great role model for people who have lost the ability to walk as well. I mean if I was a kid in a wheelchair and I watched X-Men and saw "wow, there's this super cool guy that's also in a wheelchair, but he's a superhero" I'm sure that would give me hope and confidence. I'm not trying to somehow diminish that or say that only fics that fix EVERYTHING are good. Hell no

[vivecka]

Yes omg I hate the plot holes too, there's so many :(
Wonderful fic, though, I want to read more!

[leandralocke]

I know right? It makes it really frustrating sometimes to write canon-based fic ^^ (Which may be the reason why there's so many AUs).

Thank you. Next chapter will be up tomorrow and the final one on Christmas Eve. Though I still have to write it. Wish me luck I'll have enough time to do so tomorrow so that I can still send it to my beta-readers.

[avictoriangirl]

I'm still loving this story and just wanted to let you know that I'm 100% behind you. Besides, I also prefer Charles to not be paralyzed and if that makes me a bad person, then so be it. It's just a story for gods sake. *rolls eyes at other people who shall not be named*

[leandralocke]

♥

One other thing in this context has been brought up to me though, by a very nice person whom I've been having a good discussion with, that there's a certain lack of a reaction by the team and Erik to this quite unusual theory. So I'll be amending a paragraph or two.

[avictoriangirl]

Well no matter what you do with it, it's still great and I'm looking forward to reading the rest. :) ♥

[telperion_15]

I was bracing myself for this chapter a little bit, because I knew there was no way we were going to be able to miss seeing angsty!Charles... But I wasn't expecting the interesting take on his paralysis - that's an interpretation I don't think I've seen before (although I'm speaking from a position of *relatively* little experience of X-Men fandom in general), and I rather like it!

*braces self again for the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come*

[leandralocke]

Thank you. I'm glad you like that approach. I think it's highly interesting (though of course really tragic for people suffering from such conditions). I hadn't know something like this was even possible before I read about it. I just remember I've seen this in an old Heidi movie yeeeeeeears ago, but that was a cheesy children's movie, and I wasn't sure if it was realistic. Apparently it was.

[bit_and_bridles]

I really love this story and I'm always smiling by the end of these two parts. Not to mention, they also leave me with a "warm and fuzzy feeling," despite the obvious angst. Also, I really love your "Ghost" she's quite wonderful. :) And after having seen "A Christmas Carol: The Musical" at my local playhouse, this was just perfect! Your little details also just make this story so much more real. All the little descriptions and inner-monologues/thoughts pull your reader in. It's just..phenomanol

[leandralocke]

Hey, thank you for your lovely comment