Fic: Feet of Clay [Watchmen, Adrian Veidt/Alexander the Great/Hephaistion]

[glitterburn]

Title: Feet of Clay
Fandom: Watchmen
Pairing: Adrian Veidt/Alexander the Great/Hephaistion
Summary: Adrian goes back in time to Libya, 331 BC in order to meet the one man who’s ever truly meant anything to him.
Rating: R
Word count: 4643
Notes: This was written in response to Someone’s prompt at watchmenkink, which asked for Adrian/Alexander. Er, not much

Comments

[aitakute]

Fuck. Ohmygod.
I am just speechless. When I saw "Adrian/Alexander" I didn't expect this - but then again I don't really know what to expect from you I suppose, it's always a shocker of some sort.

I'm trying to wrap my head around this fic, because seriously.. wow. I mean, like, now when I think of the scene in the movie when Adrian waxes lyrical about Alexander and then he pauses for a moment, now the only thing I can think of is longing. Of him recalling this moment - the moment when he was transported back into the past to witness the rise of his most beloved hero, and of the question he's asked at the oracle, and of everything that has happened... I bet he thinks he's gonna beat the oracle at his game. ;)

Anyway. As for the fic, I really love how this offers an insight into pre-movieera!Adrian, into one that is on his way up. Just like Alexander. I love that parallel. And of how Alexander sees through him from the start. I suppose he knew Adrian's just like him in a certain way.

And I love how you humanise Alexander and Hephaestion by making them 'normal-looking' (or at least flawed) in Adrian's eyes. *grins* I laughed at how petulant he sounded when he assessed Hephaestion and go "...meh!". :P And ironically it was Hephaestion who openly adored him at the end, not Alexander. Brilliant. I love how you kept Alexander in charge and distant (comparatively) to Adrian. That is so much more believable than the 'omg love at first sight' shit (because it's Alexander the Great, LMAO). ...unless of course they're SQ/ZL. *coughs* :P

I really love this, it's so... how to you put this, sweeping. Poignant. Very Adrian. This fic humanises him. For some reason I think of comicverse!Adrian as opposed to movieverse!Adrian - like, the scenes set out in this fic breaks him a little, and makes him resolve to be stronger than what was predicted of him.

+mem *squees* <3

[glitterburn]

Thank you! This was fairly difficult to put together because so much symbolism went into it that probably only a Classics geek would spot everything o_O I did a course on Philip, Alexander and the Hellenistic Kingdoms in my final year of undergrad so I retained just enough knowledge for this LOL.

Originally what I was aiming to do was to have Adrian usurp Alexander without realising it, but Alexander wasn't that daft. So I made Adrian the anti-Alexander, which is why Alexander likens him indirectly to Olympias and directly to Philip - in a way Alexander is as much a creation of Adrian's preconceptions as Alexander was the creation of Olympias and Philip.

Hephaistion's getting it while he can. Bagaos lurks! XD