#xmdp

CHERIK WEEK 2025 DAY 2: reunion

Raven was born in 1934. Charles was born in 1932. Erik was born in 1930. There's a two-year age gap between Charles & Raven, and Charles & Erik, and a four-year one between Raven & Erik.

X-Men First Class (2011), we meet Charles, Raven & Erik in 1944. - Erik would have been 14 - Charles would have been 12. - Raven would have been 10 The rest of the movie takes place in October 1962. - Charles is 30 - Erik is 32 - Raven is 28

Fun fact!: This is the only movie where James & Michael are, in fact, relatively age accurate. James would’ve been 32, and Michael 34. They also have the same 2-year age gap. :)

Every movie takes place ten years after each other, EXCEPT FC & DoFP. DoFP takes place in 1973, because the JFK assassination happened in 1963 (November 22, 1963), therefore making it a decade that Erik was in prison.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) takes place in 1973/2023 - Original!Charles is 91 - Young!Charles is 41 - Original!Erik is 93 - Young!Erik is 43 - Original!Raven is dead (would have been 89) - Young!Raven is 39

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) takes place in 1983 - Charles is 51 - Erik is 53 - Raven is 49

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) takes place in 1993 - Charles is 61 - Erik is 63 - Raven is 59

In the original X-Men movies, they take place during their release years. Because of the timeline shift, the only ages I'm sure are accurate are Erik & Charles's. And of course, because of her DNA, Raven looks decades younger.

X-Men (2000) - Charles is 68 - Erik is 70 - Raven should be 66

X2: X-Men United (2003) - Charles is 71 - Erik is 73 - Raven should be 69

X-Men: Last Stand (2006) - Charles is 74 - Erik is 76 - Raven should be 72

I love it so much. In a time when Charles is so vulnerable and alone- Raven is dead, Jean is gone(?), he lost his place as headmaster of the school and leader of the x-men, and surely he assumes he's lost Erik long ago- Erik shows up and is so soft and gentle.

The best part? This line:

Throughout the series but particularly in Dark Phoenix, everyone that Charles loves interprets his intentions in the worst possible light. This movie is like, one long Charles whump; Raven accuses him of hiding in the mansion and taking the credit for the x-men's success, Hank cruelly blames him for Raven's death and turns on him after thirty years of friendship, and even Erik gets his licks in ("You're always sorry...but nobody cares anymore"!? ERIK!!!)

But then Erik shows up in Paris, and says "You saved my life, and you offered me a home."

I'm certain that in First Class, Erik didn't see it that way. Instead, he saw Charles making ultimatums and rejecting Erik entirely the moment Erik did something Charles didn't agree with (and we can all agree Charles didn't handle things well on that beach, but the truth is that he always, always forgives Erik and he always wants him back, even when he's upset with him)

Sometime over the last thirty years, Erik has reevaluated that time and come to the conclusion that- yes, Charles was offering him a home-not just a place to sleep and train and plot.

A home.

Somewhere you return to at the end of every day, regardless of what that day brought and whether you were the best or worst version of yourself, somewhere safe and accepting and loving.

After Charles has lost everything he cares about and is told he's selfish and dangerous and always has been, Erik shows up to convince him otherwise.

"You saved my life, and you offered me a home. I'd like to do the same for you."

Which, given all that context, sounds a lot like:

Two people with decades of grief and pain and anger between them seeing the love and good in each other at the end of it all.