Fic rec - The Winter of Banked Fires

[sakura_no_miko]

Title: The Winter of Banked Fires

Author: Yahtzee

Fandom: X-Men (movies canon)

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Erik/Charles, Logan/Rogue, Hank/Mystique

Warnings: explciit sex (gay and het), domestic terrorism, religious terrorism, racist/species-ist rhetoric, non-consensual body modification, body dysmorphia, child endangerment,

Other notes: canon divergence, fix-it fic

Length: 67k

Summary: Charles Xavier has returned from the dead -- but is lost within his own mind. Rogue has cast aside her own power and doesn't know where she fits in the world any longer. The production of synthetic Cure means mutantkind itself is newly at risk. And Magneto, turned human against his will, is in despair until the day he feels a familiar consciousness tugging at his own --

Set after X-3 (with much desperate fix-it applied), during XMFC, and every time in between.

 

Whoa, this fic is 7 years old. I’ve written a rec for it before — possibly twice? It’s one of those fics that just pops back into my head every so often. As it is, I finally started getting some rain and chill up in my area, and I wasn’t feeling especially Christmas-y, so, um, this is something winter-y, at least.

But — this is a fix-it fic. That’s kinda got a warm and happy feeling to it, yeah?

So, there’s this thing I’ve heard about the meaning behind the pre-Christian winter solstice holidays. It might be true, it might be romanticized bull shit. But, people say, the celebrations at winter solstice were supposed to be a time of celebrating survival. It’s the darkest, coldest part of the year, food is scarce, people and animals are holed up to try and make it until spring. This is the time to celebrate warmth, family, society. It’s a time to realize you have to come together in order to survive. A time to share. Etc etc.

And that’s kind of what this fic is about. All these characters who are being horrifically hunted down, attacked, physically changed against their will — and they retreat to an abandoned town in the Canadian wilderness and build themselves a home. Much like The Fourth Estate, which I’ve rec’ced before, this is also a fic about the rise of terrorism. Which, come to think of it…I did some Gundam Wing recs earlier, and I mentioned how there was a moment when I saw someone realize that, hey, all the pilots were terrorist fighters, and that was pretty much Enemy Number One after 9/11. Like, for a long and intense period of time, “terrorist” pretty much replaced “Nazi” as the go-to, easy villain. Heck, my parents like to chat with me about tv shows they watch, and apparently military vs terrorists is still a thing on primetime. So seeing both of these deal with the rise of, well, American terrorism is fascinating. Horrifying, certainly, because, hell, we’ve been watching terrorists grow over the last few years. Fear-mongering in the media, a handful of “lone wolves,” and then — then you’ve got gangs and militias running around.

Fun times, yeah? Or, alternatively, it’s about a marginalized group of people who have to ally together to make a safe space for themselves. The discomfort and terror of watching these people get attacked and forced form their homes is weirdly balanced out with the sort of mostly happy community they build. They’re being attacked, but at the same time, it’s that desperation that brings them back together, forces them to become allies and eventually forgive each other.

Man, this is an ensemble fic, and pretty much no one gets left behind. Individual story arcs? Wonderful, especially Marie/Rogue and Raven/Mystique. Mystique’s choice at the end of the story — it’s painful, but it makes sense. I think it surprised me the first time I read this fic. Then again, I’ve always empathized more with Xavier, flaws and all. I’m not driven by anger, just tons of sadness. Erik and Mystique have a much deeper anger and drive that I understand, even if I don’t feel it myself. (Though, that line in the Dark Phoenix trailer — “You’re always sorry Charles, and there’s always a speech, and nobody cares.” — that kind of hurts. I feel like that, sometimes, these days — what use are words? It all feels useless sometimes.)

Marie/Rogue — I think her journey is more expected, in a way, because it comes directly from the third movie. And it is a hard choice — does she embrace the power that physically, literally sets her apart from the people she loves?

I do really love the resolution of the story. Somehow, everything in this fic works out. Which, well, yes, it is a fix-it fic. But—

I’ve read this argument that the big difference between fanfiction/fanworks in general and “real” fiction I that fanfics are all self-indulgent: PWPs, fluff, everything happy with no consequences or drama, etc. Real Fiction demands drama and pain and such.

But — like, goddamnit, there is so much pain in the world, why not get a happy fic? The characters are suffering in this fic. They suffer, they struggle, and in the end, they get to have their cake and eat it too. They get to set their own rules, make their own choices, and—

Ah, Charles and Erik, yet another gorgeous story arc, because they’ve been apart so damn long, and fought so much and never managed to stop being in love.

They should be happy, damnit. Rogue should be happy. Mystique may never be happy, but that’s her choice.

Just—

Oh, spoilers? Specific ending spoilers

Erik and Charles decide together not to destroy the Cure , but to take control of it, so people can choose if they want to get rid of their mutation. And even better, it turns out to be temporary, so people can try living both ways, or they can stop their abilities for a set amount of time. Logan happily enters a relationship with Marie, both with and without her powers, because intimacy doesn’t always need nudity, and

Oh, man:

“My clothes are staying on.” He fastens the strap around one wrist, then the other, before bending his fingers to test the give. “You don’t always have to be the one wearing the gloves, you know.”

and Logan is seriously the best dude, and Erik takes a bold but nonviolent stand, expecting he’ll lose everything but instead he gains everything and this is basically a peaceful unified beginning to Genosha.

It is basically perfect hurt/comfort and everything ends with comfort. Wanna buried my face in this fic like a favorite blanket. It will be okay. Stay with the people you love and things will turn out okay.

Also, oddly enough, I had both this fic and As A Star, Forever Out of Reach on my short list and they both use the “you are my north star” metaphor. And, again, I adore PoV switches. Takes so much talent to make each voice unique. Just sheer coincidence these stories have so many similarities.

And for my additional fic rec: Where There Is Darkness. Lovely fic about and older, reconciled Charles and Erik being interviewed.

(Looking for more fic recs?)
Crossposted to pillowfort