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

[dislex1a]

I've been wanting to leave a proper review of this that isn't just me squeeing, but it's proving to be really hard! Thanks for writing the prompt! XD

I am so in awe of what you've done with this. I love how the themes and metaphors from both comic and movie are blended with the ancient setting. It's obvious Alan Moore used a lot of Classical themes in the comic and it's wonderful how you combine Alexander's thirst for world conquest with Adrian's quest to know everything.

From the start, the fact that Adrian is disappointed that Alexander isn't as beautiful as he was hoping for is a hint of how, even though he admires Alexander, he's subconsciously trying to usurp him. I love it. Even if Adrian's not aware of it he's constantly comparing himself to Alexander and finding him lacking. I was really taken with the dynamics of the sex scene and how the balance shifts to Adrian being the centre of attention and Alexander being the watcher while Adrian has Hephastion.

And then there's Adrian's need to be adored. Whilst everyone else is happy to see him as a god, Alexander is the only one who sees him as he really is - as a man. An extremely ambitious man, but a man nonetheless, and one who will never be truly satisfied.

I agree with what Emma has said about the loss of control too - that last scene with him hurling the bust out of the window was wonderfully done.

Ohh and that scene with the snakes twining themselves around Adrian's arms? You probably didn't intend this but I pictured it as being a foreboding sign of how Adrian becomes the dealer of death at the end of the comic/movie, but also someone who recreates (and then I thought of the ouroboros!) the world after its destruction. Actually that's the image that really stuck with me, for whatever reason.

Guh. You should post this at one of the comms. It's so beautifully tragic.

Eeeeeee. Thank you!!!!!!! *squees*

[glitterburn]

Thank you!

What I find interesting is that Adrian doesn't rate Julius Caesar (who famously wept over a statue of Alexander from jealousy at achieving so little in comparison by the time he was 30), but he's named for arguably the greatest Roman emperor, Hadrian, who ruled when Rome was at its peak in terms of empire (and who also had a male lover). Adrian only goes for winners.

Yes!! The usurption thing - originally that was the point of the fic but it kind of swung in a slightly different direction. I'm so glad it still came across that way :D

When diagon read it through I was worried that it'd be too, uh, complicated so I'm glad it was a smooth ride. As I said to aitakute, I spent a long time sticking all kinds of Deep and Meaningful stuff in there to please feed my inner squeeing Classicist. I was kinda hinting at the destruction of the world thing with the snakes, as snakes were more than messengers of death, to the Greeks they were the actual embodiment of a dead person. I forgot the ourobouros though, that's a good point!

And the whole question of 'should you meet your hero' is ripe for exploration, since (ironically) Adrian is more than happy for people to meet him as a superhero XDD

I was a bit nervous of posting in a comm but I will now ^^ Thank you!

[dislex1a]

Interesting point about Caesar! Perhaps he found Caesar's eventual descent into megalomania a weakness he couldn't look past? I like the point about Hadrian though, although it does raise the question of whether Adrian ever had an Antinous. XD

The usurption theme is especially strong during the sex scene, but I loved how you built it up slowly.

I was kinda hinting at the destruction of the world thing with the snakes, as snakes were more than messengers of death, to the Greeks they were the actual embodiment of a dead person.

This just makes me love the snake motif even more now! Also, the way he diverts the whole party's attention and points out the crows is also very ominous...

Yay for you posting this on the comms! *g* Enjoy Germany ;)