what would you have me do?

“...And you?”

The answer should be pretty clear to Erik—Peter is there with Mystique simply because he’s the only member (other than Kurt, who’s busy elsewhere and who Erik doesn’t know about) who can actually travel to where Erik is. From Erik’s perspective, Peter isn’t there to add onto Mystique’s little monologue in some grand way—he’s just there to get her to and from places during this battle.

So why ask Peter this? What purpose does this question serve Erik other than wondering about that somewhat strange, energetic kid who broke him out of jail ten years ago? Why ask him why he’s there after a heartfelt speech about family, if not for confirmation of a decade-long suspicion—“My mom once knew a guy who could do that”—that maybe there’s some connection between them? Erik had to have asked about Peter at some point between the Pentagon and Paris. “Where did you find him? Is he a student? And how many people am I friends with that I apparently knew this kid’s mom?? Wait, his uncommon last name is the same as my ex’s?...How old is he again?”. It wouldn’t be hard to connect the dots after a little questioning. Between this and the look in his eyes after Peter begins saying “I’m your—“, there’s no way Erik didn’t know at that point.

Erik knows who his son is and he isn’t disappointed in who he is like Peter fears—he loves him because that’s his child, even if that child is all grown up and doesn’t really need him anymore. The only reason Erik hasn’t said anything is because he thinks Peter wouldn’t want anything to do with him, and he can’t risk losing anyone else even if he is accepted. Neither of them are willing to open themselves up for potentially experiencing the pain of rejection from the other—it would just be a son being abandoned for the second time and a father effectively losing yet another child—but it means they’re also closing themselves off from a much-needed familial connection.

All that to say—dang it, Fox Studios. This was such a good arc and it was wasted, and I will forever be sad about that.

The first scene in Egypt ends with Erik saying "my family", the next starts with Peter at the center of the frame. Yeah, thanks, right in the feels.

I'll have none of that, if you don't give us a Dadneto scene. Stop it! Even the scene says so: see how the floor is octagonal, just like a stop sign!

every now and then i remember this and weep 

I love him so much

Xmen Apocolypse:

I know Magda died, but I know she got it good while she lived. I know she did. Nothing but respect for the woman who managed to bag Erik fucking Lensherr. For ten years. And got a baby out of him. Iconic. We do stan. Charles who?

X-Men: Apocalypse

I know you think you’ve lost everything. But you haven’t. You have me. You have Charles. You have more family than you know. You never had the chance to save your family before. But you do now. That’s what I’ve come here to tell you. And you?

Ugh, I just- this scene. This freaking scene.

I find it interesting that Peter doesn’t avert his eyes after saying “I’m here for my family, too”, because he’s clearly uncomfortable and unsure of how Erik will react. He can’t actually force out the confession that he’s been waiting a decade to say- he falters, and that’s when he looks away as if he’s chastising himself. He tries to form the words but can’t say them out loud, and he finally forces out some sort of semi-confession, and it’s at that moment that he owns it. The truth is out (sort of, enough for him to feel uncomfortable and vulnerable). And after he admits that he’s here for his family, he keeps his eyes trained on Erik, as if pleading: ‘please understand what I’m trying to say. please care about me even though you’ve lost so much. please don’t reject me’. He even (perhaps subconsciously) tips his head towards Erik after the confession, as if saying through his body language “it’s you. I’m here for you.” He’s gauging Erik’s reaction (and we can see that Erik has tears in his eyes- he knows, or at least suspects the truth- and silently pleading at the same time.

Man, I really really wish Peter didn’t have to wear his goggles in this scene so we could see Evan’s acting better.

I’m so here for this analysis, it’s amazing. I think Erik knows in this scene that Peter’s his son. Look at his eyes, his expression. Deep down inside, Erik knows but is afraid to say anything.

X-Men: Apocalypse

I know you think you’ve lost everything. But you haven’t. You have me. You have Charles. You have more family than you know. You never had the chance to save your family before. But you do now. That’s what I’ve come here to tell you. And you?

I have many villain origin stories. The severe lack of Dadneto in the X-Men franchise is one of them

found family dynamics i adore brought to you by the xmen

This is very much accurate

Sometimes I like to entertain the idea that perhaps Erik already kinda knows and/or has figured it out on his own by now.

erik watching his idiot offspring struggle to tell the secret that has been eating at him for like 10 years:

Peter Maximoff in X-Men: Apocalypse and Wanda Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron just hits different

Oh, how I wish his face wouldn't vanish behind Raven's hair as his grin appears!

We've been deprived of skeleton shenanigans and I'm very disappointed.

Petition for someone to release the slo-mo scenes: directors cut where all the extra footage that they never used is included