Re: Highlander and the Anita-verse

Sep 12, 2007 07:56

Apparently, there are several people reading No Dominion who are unfamiliar with one fandom or the other.

First, that's awesome.  I've picked up some of my favourite fandoms through crossovers, including  Highlander.  (ah, Nick Lea...)

Second, for everyone's convenience, I've decided to write a quick synopsis of what everyone needs to know for the purposes of reading this particular story, and I'm more than happy to answer any canon-related questions for either fandom.

In the Anita-verse:

Vampires, lycanthropes, and all matter of supernatural beasties are not only real, but legally recognized.  Werewolves can vote.  Vampires have the right to exist, so long as they don't go around killing people.  Magic is also real and legislated.  The FBI has a Preternatural Crimes Unit.  As this is a fusion-fic as much as it is a crossover, in this story, Immortals are one of the few supernatural creatures (for lack of a better term) that the government and general public remain unaware of.

-Anita Blake is an animator, capable of raising the dead (making zombies, not resurrection), a job she performs for various reasons (will clarification, witness testimony, psychological closure).  She is also a licensed vampire executioner, a job that includes staking those whose wills indicate an unwillingness to be turned, hunting rogue vampires, and consulting with the RPIT - the Regional Preternatural Investigations Team. (local cops).

-Edward is an assassin who specializes in the supernatural, having switched from regular humans because it got too easy for him.  Sociopathic and mysterious, not much more is known about his background.  The supernatural community has given him the nickname of 'Death', and it's a nickname that he deserves.

-Jean-Claude is a vampire, the Master of the city of St. Louis.  (Anita-verse vampires are closer to Anne Rice than they are to BtVS)  He is obsessed (or possibly in love) with Anita, and has begun the process of making her his 'human servant', a position that bestows a longer lifespan, increased healing abilities, and greater physical strength in exchange for the human linking with and serving the vampire.  Jean-Claude is approximately 400 years old.

As far as 'Highlander' goes:

- Immortals are men and women who age normally until their 'first death', at which point they revive and stop aging altogether.  They are also, from this point on, immune to disease and able to heal any wound short of beheading.  Though they will die if fatally injured, they will always return to life, so long as their head stays attached.  Immortals all participate in the Game, the main rule of which is that someday all Immortals will fight to the death, and the last one standing will win some unknown Prize of unimaginable power.  The only other unbreakable rule is that fighting on Holy Ground of any sort is absolutely forbidden.  Fights are (supposed to be) conducted one-on-one, with bladed weapons only, though these last two rules have been broken upon occasion.  After an Immortal fight is concluded, and the loser has been beheaded, their life-force transfers itself to the winner in a violent, localized storm of electrical energy known as the Quickening.

- The Watchers are a group of mortal men and women who monitor and record the lives of Immortals.  They also help to keep knowledge of Immortals from the government and general public.   Watchers are forbidden by oath from interfering in Immortal lives in any way, shape or form.  All Watchers have a distinctive tattoo on their left wrist that signifies membership in the society.  As a general rule, Immortals are unaware of their existence.

- Methos is the oldest surviving Immortal.  At 5,000 years old, he is a myth even to most other Immortals, and he likes it that way, in part because his age makes him a particularly tempting target in the Game.  He has spent the past ten years hiding in the Watchers under the name of Adam Pierson, researching his own legend, and making very sure that they never actually find him.  Three thousand years ago, he and three other Immortals spent a millennium raiding and pillaging their way across the known world.  Calling themselves the Four Horsemen, these Immortals were so feared by their mortal contemporaries that they formed the basis of the myth of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and indeed, Methos did call himself 'Death' while he rode with them.  It was a title that was well-deserved, at least at the time.  Methos' approach to life and morality in general is very pragmatic, and though he does have his own moral code, his attitude quite frequently puts him in conflict with Duncan MacLeod.

- Duncan MacLeod is a 400 year old Immortal from the Scottish Highlands, and a friend of Methos'.  His approach to morality is far more strict than that of his older friend.  As this story opens, their relationship has been strained by MacLeod's discovery of Methos' blood-soaked past, and Methos has taken himself off to St. Louis so that he doesn't have to deal with MacLeod.

- Joe Dawson is Duncan MacLeod's Watcher and friend (in complete violation of the Watcher rules).   He's also a close friend of Methos', having initially gotten to know the oldest Immortal while he was still posing as Adam Pierson.  Joe is the only mortal who knows that Adam Pierson is an Immortal; he is also the only mortal who knows that Adam is Methos.

***

I realize that this is by no means a comprehensive overview of either universe.  Still, it ought to be enough to clear up any uncertainties as far as No Dominion is concerned.  If you want to know more, I'd recommend Wikipedia.

Did that help?  Or did it just make things worse?  Either way, let me know -- and if there's anything that's still unclear, I'm always happy to explain.

hl/ab:vh, meta, fandom, no dominion

Previous post Next post
Up
[]