cherik headcannon : okay so during first class Charles was interested in learning german and asks Erik to teach him so Erik starts by teaching him lullabies and soft songs (which is mother use to sing to him). When they start sleeping together and Erik has night terrors left over from his time with Shaw, Charles would hold him and sing the german lullaby until he fell back asleep. After the beach divorce, Erik has more trouble sleeping and on rare occassion lingers outside westminster with
(2/2) helmet firmly on, hoping to find some sort of peace from just being near Charles. He finds the window in the study where they use to play chess and talk for hours open and from inside comes a soft melodic voice of charles humming the same lullaby, knowing Erik was there but never saying anything because he knew Erik needed this and maybe he did too.
I actually submitted this to prince-malice earlier, but I figured I’d put a full post on my own tumblr since this is pretty much my favorite headcanon ever.
This one half-belongs to my awesome RP partner, but:
Erik has always liked carrying Charles around. He’s spent his life not having much of his own, and carrying Charles makes him really feel like Charles is his. It’s also fun because Charles makes adorable protests every time, because he claims it’s demeaning, even while Charles’s arms are firmly around Erik’s neck.
Charles secretly loves it because he has severe abandonment issues and being carried is pretty much the opposite of abandonment.
Erik sometimes threatens to drop Charles just to get Charles to cling to him more. Because Erik likes it when Charles clings, he’s never let Charles know he’d never actually drop him.
So, I didn’t do the ask thing, but I really want to also do that meme thing that’s been going around, so here, have my somewhat canon-compliant headcanons. I will also freely admit a lot of my headcanons were formed during the time I RPed with jazzedforthefall, so a lot of these partially belong to her.
A lot of these turned out really sad, sorry. ;_;
who wakes the other one up with kisses:
Erik, because he wakes up first, but only very occasionally. More often he’ll just stroke Charles’s cheek or hair, or just watch him until he wakes up. Charles actually watches Erik at night sometimes, knowing Erik is going to leave again, but won’t kiss him for fear of waking Erik and breaking the spell keeping Erik in his arms for that moment.
who cooks for who:
Erik does the cooking. Charles is not allowed near stoves or ovens or really anything that could lead to him burning something down because he will. Additionally, it’s harder nowadays for Charles to reach the stove from the chair. Also it’s totally comic canon that Erik is an awesome cook.
who is the morning person/night person:
Erik is definitely a morning person, in that his previous lifestyle has engrained in him a very early rising schedule. Charles…is not and likes to remain asleep for as long as possible because he’s a lazy bastard. They’re both capable of staying up late if needed, although Charles enjoys it more (or used to, when he went to bars a lot). Most nights Erik falls asleep first and Charles watches over him for a while, heart in his throat.
who is the romantic one:
At a glance, you’d think Charles, with his “darling” and his smiles and sweetness, but Erik is actually probably more romantic deep down inside. He’s the sort who would do all sorts of cheesy things very earnestly because he thinks it’s the right way to treat a lover. Erik likes carrying Charles, even though he threatens to drop Charles. (Charles pretends it’s humiliating and complains a lot but secretly really enjoys it.) Neither of them is consistently cheesy, though. Most of the time they just snark at each other and/or make out.
who is the top when it comes to sex
Erik more often, but they switch it up. After Cuba, there’s not really so much a concept of top anymore. Charles actually doesn’t get a lot of feeling past his waist, but Erik refuses to give up on making Charles actually feel good, no matter that Charles insists he’ll be fine picking up Erik’s pleasure telepathically.
who would lead in ballroom dancing:
More likely Charles, who actually had lessons as a child. Charles rather likes dancing, but Erik never really learned because it never seemed that useful. Unfortunately by the time it really comes up, Charles isn’t really able to dance anymore. One time, he mentions it, and Erik uses his powers to float Charles’s chair so they can do something akin to dancing.
who is the more cuddly one:
Really, both of them, in their own weird ways. Charles is a bit like a cat and always manages to fit himself into all of Erik’s empty spaces like he belongs there. Erik often will end up putting his arms around Charles and just holding on to him, as though Erik’s afraid he’ll lose Charles.
who is the one to most likely pick the movie they watch
If they ever watched a movie, probably Charles. Erik would pay very little attention to pop culture. They’re more likely to just play chess or debate or make out.
who is the one who would pay for dates
This varies immensely depending on the situation and day. They can both be pretty forceful about being fully capable of paying for themselves. On the other hand, for example, if Erik arranged a date, he would insist on paying it all. Charles would inevitably complain, and Erik would promise to let Charles pay next time.
who is the one who would initiate a quickie during classes
Maybe not during classes. Erik might try, in the event that he’s staying at Westchester for a bit, but Charles would give him the cold shoulder until after class. Charles is a responsible professor, dammit!
Okay i love hella-gay-flashback-that-changes-Erik’s-mind-and-makes-him-shed-a-single-man-tear as much as anybody, but are we ever going to talk about the fact that this isn’t quite what happened???? Because listen, I know this scene word for word I have seen First Class many times, and Charles never said, “I need you.” In fact, he started off by telling Erik, “You needed my help…” so like??? Who is responsible for this?? Is Erik remembering things incorrectly because he thinks or knows (or thinks he knows?) that Charles needs him? Is this something Charles did say, and we just didn’t get to see it in First Class for whatever reason?????? How the fuck did this even happen? How do they have footage of firstclass!Charles saying this??? Why would Charles have even been saying it at this point when they didn’t really know each other yet? Was it supposed to be in First Class? And if so, were there other things that were cut out of the movie and not revealed to us?????????? I want some theories, people.
1. Please don’t write them as “Jewish in name only.” For one thing, that essentially takes away representation, which is hurtful, and for another, trying to prevent assimilation is a really big thing in the Jewish community. The characters’ parents died when they were kids? Write them as having been raised by other Jews (eg family members). Honestly, doing otherwise is a cop out. For centuries, people who hated us have wanted us to leave our Jewishness behind and fully assimilate. You are inadvertently tying into that when you do write the characters as “Jewish in name only.”
2. Consider writing them as at least somewhat religious. Of course, there are certainly secular Jews in real life, but there are hardly any religious Jews in media and it gets tiring. There would absolutely be practicing Jewish wizards regardless of whether Harry is religious; if we can keep our traditions despite progroms, the Holocaust, forced assimilation, and the American melting pot, being wizards won’t faze us. There are religious Jews who participate in many cultures and subcultures around the world. That there are no explicitly religious characters in Harry Potter is more of a function of Harry’s inability to notice these things (and JKR’s struggle with portrayals of minority groups) than an indication that there are no religious wizards.
3. Even if they’re not religious, please write them as being at least culturally Jewish. What I mean is, have them participate in Jewish culture. They celebrate Chanukah, for instance (if Harry celebrates Christmas, the Goldsteins can celebrate Chanukah, even if they’re secular). They know some Yiddish words. You don’t necessarily have to write that in, but it should be the background in your head.
4. Don’t have them celebrating Christmas, unless they’re doing it solely for the benefit of Christian or culturally-Christian friends. Cultural Christians tend to see Christmas as secular and universal, but for us, it’s not. I don’t know any Jews who celebrate Christmas who aren’t part of interfaith families. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. Christmas is a major signifier of complete assimilation. When you write Jewish characters celebrating Christmas for themselves, you’re making a much stronger statement than you intend.
5. Consider including positive details. This is not strictly necessary (for fanfic writers, that is; JKR and Stuart Craig should have done it) but it is nice. Positive details are little things that won’t disrupt the flow of the story, but will be recognized by your Jewish readers and will make them happy. Examples can include a reference to candlesticks on a mantelpiece when describing a room, or mentioning that Passover is the reason a character is visiting his sister-in-law but not going into detail about the Seder meal. Here’s an excerpt from a fic I wrote:
It is three years later (but somehow, it feels so much shorter), when Newt finds himself sitting in the afternoon sunlight, Tina by his side (her hands folded in her lap and somehow still breathtaking at the age of 109), looking up at the couple standing in the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves twined into the posts of their wedding canopy. His grandson, grown into a handsome and capable young man, and Luna, as ethereal as she was at age twelve but now carrying herself with the maturity of someone who has seen all the horrors the world has to offer and has decided still to view the world with wonder, stand face to face, gently clasping one another’s hands and exuding quiet strength.
They are clearly following the Jewish custom of having a wedding canopy (chuppah), but I do not explicitly mention that it is a Jewish custom, and while it is clearly mentioned, it is not the focus. The advantage to using positive details is twofold; it ensures representation without distracting from the focus of the story, but it also portrays Jewish customs as normal for Jews. When I’m performing a Jewish ritual, it’s just a part of my life – I don’t stop and think about the fact that it’s Jewish, or think it’s at all out of the ordinary.
6. Omit negative details. These are things that would be inappropriate for a culturally or somewhat-religious Jewish character. I can’t speak for anyone else, but they interrupt the flow of the story for me. These are things like having a character eat something blatantly unkosher (pork, shellfish, dairy-and-meat-together). It’s possible that they could be doing this if the character is very secular, but I already addressed that in Point 2 and, if this is the 1920s, plenty of secular Jews actually kept some level of kosher. It’s entirely possible that secular Jewish characters in the 1920s could even have a fully-kosher kitchen. That might seem very strange to you if you are culturally Christian, but Christianity and Judaism are very, very different. The idea you have in your head of “religion” isn’t entirely applicable to Judaism. Keeping kosher has cultural as well as religious significance.
7. Mention major Jewish holidays if your fic takes place on or near them. You don’t need to go into detail, but it would be odd to have, say, a fic during April with not even a single passing mention of Passover. Likewise October and the fall holidays. This can be easily avoided if you simply set the fic at a different time. If you’re not sure when the holidays are, Hebcal is a great resource. Google “hebcal [year]” or “[holiday] [year].”
8. Consider going into more detail. This is not necessary by any means, but it a lovely thing to do and will certainly get you a reblog from @jewish-harrypotter if you let me know about it (fics with a lot of positive details will, too). This is harder because it requires more research, but I’m always available as a resource. I can’t tell you exactly what Jewish life looked like in the early 20th century, but if you’re okay with the fic not adhering to precise historical accuracy I can tell you what Jewish life looks like now (and the most basic aspects of the rituals haven’t really changed much). I also very much recommend My Jewish Learning as a resource. Also, if any Jews reading this are also available as resources, please comment on this post.
9. Listen to Jews. If a Jewish reader points out that something’s off, trust them to know what they’re talking about. If they’re telling you that Christmas is not a universal holiday, don’t tell them it is. No one expects someone who isn’t Jewish to know about Jewish culture or religion, but there’s a difference between not knowing something and rejecting what someone is trying to tell you.
Hope that helped! Thank you for reading! I know writing about a minority you’re not part of is hard, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this to find out how to do it better!
I took the template from my original ace game boy and decided to make a Pride set! I might make some more game system illustrations in the future since these were very fun to mess around with.
••please reblog from the original source. do not repost my artwork••
Actually, Annoy Squidward Day is January 15th. Although the calendar doesn’t have the month written on it, if you continue to watch the episode, they’re competing for January’s Employee of the Month.
