Enervate

Title: Enervate
Author: Just Another Anon
Pairing: Erik/Charles, but also gen-ish
Rating: R (for implied rape and non-con)

Written for the prompt: "Charles had an abusive childhood (like in the comics, but worse) and when he finally got away, he repressed everything behind mental walls, to the point he doesn't really remember anything about it. After the events of the movie, his mental state deteriorates, and those walls come down."

The pacing of this fic is perfect - the slow, gradual buildup of something's not quite right, to oh shit but it's too late, and to Charles's complete lockdown, is completely beautiful. I love how it shows his absolute love and devotion to Raven - I feel like there's not enough emphasis on the fact that he loves her even though she's blue, but "Right now she’s blonde and pretty – she’s usually blonde and pretty, but she’s really blue and pretty, and she can make herself look like anyone at all, and he thinks she’s pretty much amazing" made me go YES CHARLES LOVES HER ORIGINAL FORM AS WELL. It's also painful, especially when we get to all the memories that Charles has locked up, and those lines about how Charles protected Raven from Kurt, and Emma turning into diamond form out of instinct - those brought tears to my eyes. Oh Charles.