“We are Immortals, born in the cradle of civilisation to tribes that no longer exist. We are not alone, there are others like us, some strong, some weak. For centuries we have fought and conquered and the world has come to fear our names. We can not die unless you take our heads and with it our power. We are death on horseback, bringers of darkness, the Four Horsemen. In the end there can be only us.”
(Yes, I do kinda like the opening sequence of those audio episode thingies… *shifty looks*)
Tag: kronos
Picking up Strays – 0positiv – Highlander: The Series [Archive of Our Own]
Rating:
Fandom:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
- To Be/Not to Be Alternate universe
- Because Richie as an apprentice horseman is just such an unexplored opportunity
Language:English
Summary:
Methos brings home a stray and Kronos is not impressed.
Notes:
This fic is set in the alternate universe we see in To Be/Not to Be so Methos and Kronos are scheming world domination together and no Mac in sight.
Maybe @argentum-ls might like this 😉 No goatee tho
Picking up Strays – 0positiv – Highlander: The Series [Archive of Our Own]
Highlander liveblogging
Continuing from yesterday, starting with the scene where Methos returns to where Kronos is staying. Also known as Methos is a little shit, and Kronos demonstrates he is sometimes really blind to some nuances of human nature. Like, don’t ask Methos to kill his friends. It’s dangerous.
Below a cut because this is getting long. It has a lot of dialogue I like.
“So. You’re back.”
“What’d you think I’d do? Run and hide? Go somewhere you couldn’t find me?”
“No. You’re too smart for that. You know that I’d track you down, no matter how long it took. And then I’d kill you.”
“Well, it’s nice to feel wanted.”
“Not want. Need. A dozen times I tried to take up the old ways.”
(More dialogue that doesn’t interest me as much, Methos thinks he might be able to convince himself to kill Kronos, fails to do so, Kronos is amused, Methos stumbles back, disarmed (of his sword).)
"Don’t you understand? I’m not like that anymore; I… I’ve changed.”
“No. You pretended to. Maybe even convinced yourself you had. But inside you’re still there, Methos, you’re like me.”
(… Kronos, you gaslighting bastard. Hrumph. New viewing, with new knowledge, gain a new perspective, still enjoy the character, just want to hit him with a brick more. Lots more.)
“Not anymore.”
“No? Tell me you haven’t missed it.”
“The killing?”
“The freedom. The power. Riding out of the sun knowing you’re the most terrifying thing that they’ve ever seen. Knowing their gods and their weapons are useless against you. That you’re the last thing they’ll ever see; that’s what you are meant to be, Methos. Don’t fight it. Feel it.”
(Say hello to one of my favorite lines, and still is. I love the idea of it. I also know that if I were given the opportunity to do something like Kronos has in mind, I’d pass on it. Because what’s the point? Fear is nice, in small doses. Then it starts to get boring, and irritating.
and continuing with Kronos.)
“I’m going to do you a favor. You know Cassandra’s here.”
“We didn’t exactly exchange gifts.”
“Then you know she’ll kill you if she gets the chance. You never could bring yourself to take her head, could you? So I’m going to do it for you.”
“And in return?”
“You kill Duncan MacLeod.”
“But he’s my friend. He’s nothing to you; why?”
“Why? Because he’s your friend. Because you still have to prove yourself, and because you owe me!”
(Kronos, you are an abusive, gaslighting, controlling bastard. And you need hit with a brick. And the fun part is, from the flashbacks, he’s a slightly more reasonable person before Methos breaks up the Horsemen the first time. I keep thinking that one of the reasons he’s such a damned mess, beyond the fact that he’s a prop to show that MacLeod is a Good Guy, and Always Wins, is because Methos went to extremes to get rid of Kronos the first time because he couldn’t bring himself to give Kronos the mercy of death.)
Honestly in all of these stories these poetic white men who somehow end up immortal get so bored and miserable because they just sit in their mansion all day doing whatever it is they need to do in order to sustain their immortality and then they just throw lavish parties and organize orgies or whatever and then they’re like “why am I sad I eat three course meals and have at least one orgy daily what MORE could I POSSIBLY need??”
Like???? Damn go for a walk. Do you even KNOW your neighbors? Get a dog and take it to the park. Set up an elaborate fish tank. Go skiing like you’ve been alive for 200 years and you’ve spent 180 of it in your house looking at paintings and drinking wine with other rich assholes no wonder ur life sucks my man.
Buy a canoe.
this post was specifically targeting dorian grey.
Are you–are you SURE it was just Dorian? Because I thought a lot about Highlander version. 2′s moping for 6 television seasons.
… There’s reasons I don’t like
That Annoying TwitDuncan MacLeod. Everyone else is either forgettable or fun, but him. *quietly sits on the urge to strangle a character from a show that ended twenty years ago*I know, right? Thank god for Methos, Amanda, and Richie (and Joe!). They saved that show from being Duncan’s 90s angst blog.
So. Much.
Other than the Horsemen episodes (OMG, people change, and sometimes people you love aren’t always nice, and this makes me So. Mad…. *thwaps Duncan with a heavy stick* People change. People get better, deal with it, you over-honorable twit.), my favorite episodes are the two without Duncan anywhere near them in the 6th season.
Two of Hearts (which is where I get my “Susan Ivanova is Immortal, and just the latest lifetime of Katherine” headcanon), and whatever the hell the other one was called which was the Joe-and-Methos show. I would have loved more of a show like that. Joe and Methos snarking at each other, having adventures, slice-of-life sort of thing.
(Maybe too, a chance to see them develop Amy, Joe’s daughter into a primary character, and center the whole thing on the Watchers, instead of the Immortals? And thus have a show with a disabled protagonist and a female protagonist, and ok, still very white, but dude, it was the 90s, and they could have used that as a point to make it even better. *sighs*)
It’s been a good few years since i’ve seen the show, but i remember being so confused by Duncan being upset with Methos for having been an eeeevil marauder thousands of years ago.
It was THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO. Duncan is a measly three hundred to Methos’s five thousand (a number i strongly suspect is not accurate in the least) and has yet to learn that people can change over the course of time, some for the good, others for the bad. He never seemed to think less of Darius, and Darius didn’t even change of his own accord!
Ugh, the man was born with a stick of righteousness shoved so far up his ass it’s coming out the top of his head.
There were glimpses occasionally of a better version of the character, mostly in the books, but over all Duncan
MacLeod
was one of those insufferably annoying characters that had an incomprehensible timeline, knew too many famous people, and could always pull some new skill out of his ass to save the day all while looking down on those less ‘honorable’ then himself.
Fanon Duncan is usually better, and there is a frankly AWESOME recast/reboot thing here: Princes of The Universe: A Highlander Series Reboot by gigglingkat. That features the Duncan
MacLeod
we all deserve, among other excellent recasts.
*bookmarks that work for later perusal of more than the pretty pictures*
Methos has probably been saying he’s five thousand for at least three thousand years, if not more. Legends like that have a habit of not changing even after long periods of time, so Methos is – no doubt in my mind – far older than he claims. For various values of older.
And, yeah, I really don’t get Duncan’s upset, save as a byproduct of his being the protagonist and always getting to be right. Which. Dude. No. The man is not always right, because the man forgets the world isn’t binary, and can’t see past that binary thinking of his.
There’s a reason I don’t write him much, even from the point-of-view of others. I dislike him so much I tend to paint him as the bad guy… or I kill him. I have an AU I was recently rereading, and will probably play with again once I rewatch the show and also go reading up on Dracula again, in which Duncan is going to end up a head shorter, sooner or later. Or at least he was, though who knows how it will go if I rework it.
*coos and pets AU* Yeah, one of the big things in gigglingkat’s AU is that she changed the title and thus shifted the focus from Duncan to immortals in general. Duncan is still a driving force, but he’s a very different character and is capable of being wrong. The sun does not shine out his arse, lol. (Drop me a line once you have a chance to read it if you want to talk about it. ^_^)
I would adore it for that alone, but she also decided to give a viable REASON for the ‘holy ground’ rule, which always bugged the hell out of me.
There’s also some lovely scientific reasoning behind the existence of immortals, which is neat.
That fic you’re working on sounds interesting! Dracula is always interesting to read about!
It’s so good to see that idea, and I suspect I am going to enjoy the AU so much, when I get to reading it. 🙂 And applying science to Immortals and everything is fantastic.
*grins* Dracula is one of Kronos’s saner students, though he has his own issues, because Dracula, but still. (Dracula is very, very fond of certain new technologies, and has been playing with electronics and computers since their infancy, and is the source for Kronos’s security systems and electronic lab equipment in the AU.)
When I post any of it, it’s probably going to get the tag “au: the student”.
Less than two minutes into Comes a Horseman, and I’m already giggling (because Methos is adorkable). And also grinning evilly, because while I’ve forgotten some of the dialogue, I once had this episode and the one following it practically memorized.
The usual fun with music to show that they’re sensing another Immortal, and the look on Methos’s face is “oh shit”, and then there’s the dialogue, and he knows that Quickening, even if he doesn’t say so aloud.
“You expecting anyone?”
“Maybe it’s one of your fanclub.”
“Ok, there’s another way back. It’s a bit longer, but I prefer the view.”
“Yeah, send me a postcard.”
“You’re not coming?”
“No. I like to know who’s around.”
“Listen. I may not know who Chubby Checker is, but I know when it’s time to disappear.”
“Yeah.”
“Good luck.”
*facepalms* Don’t let him close like that, you twit, he deliberately designed his damned sword to catch others, and to be a nasty piece of business with close work even if it doesn’t function so well that close.
Also, Kronos, there are mortals around, don’t expect a clean fight. *sighs, and facepalms some more*
Someone dug him up, he did not dig his way out of that grave. And I’m pretty sure the Texas Rangers took care of all the mortals Kronos had in his little band, so they’re not in the equation. Which means someone else did the digging, who wasn’t present at the shootout/sword fight.
*cackles merrily, and rubs hands together*
(This makes it so much easier to insert any number of people into the role of “dig up Kronos because he ain’t dead yet”.)
No, no, MacLeod, you idiot, do not go chasing after the ancient
evil… er, raider. Nomad. Something.Cut for length, and because there will be plenty more reblogs to come.
“I don’t want a drink!”
“Then you won’t mind if I have one. Look, it’s not every day I almost take my friend’s head by mistake.” *pause* “Or she takes mine.”
Ok, not so long later. Stuff under the cut because length. Also, warnings for mention of rape, torture, and abuse.
*giggles quietly* Oh, Methos, you are an adorable snarky little shit.
“It’s been a long time. How you feeling?”
“Like I left my heart in San Francisco.”
“I didn’t know you had a heart. Does it hurt?”
“What do you think?!”
“Since you ask? I think you’re not used to pain, brother. What’s happened; you got soft?”
“I just passed through my angry adolescence a little quicker than you, Kronos.”
*facepalms* Yes, yes it is, Kronos. *shakes head, and pets the hilt of the Ivanhoe for reassurance*
“I shouldn’t be surprised your still alive. You were always the one I counted on. You weren’t the strongest, or the toughest. But you were the survivor. It’s what you do best.” *pauses for effect* “Or did.”
*resigned* “So you’ve come to kill me.”
*laughs* “It’s what I do best!”
… and there, Kronos, is your fatal error. *sighs* Don’t ask Methos to kill his friend. It’s bad for your health, and you end up a head shorter.
(And I think I will finish watching this in the morning. It’s getting late, I’m getting tired, and I’m only about two-thirds of the way through because I keep pausing to blog about it, or to poke at other things.)
Less than two minutes into Comes a Horseman, and I’m already giggling (because Methos is adorkable). And also grinning evilly, because while I’ve forgotten some of the dialogue, I once had this episode and the one following it practically memorized.
The usual fun with music to show that they’re sensing another Immortal, and the look on Methos’s face is “oh shit”, and then there’s the dialogue, and he knows that Quickening, even if he doesn’t say so aloud.
“You expecting anyone?”
“Maybe it’s one of your fanclub.”
“Ok, there’s another way back. It’s a bit longer, but I prefer the view.”
“Yeah, send me a postcard.”
“You’re not coming?”
“No. I like to know who’s around.”
“Listen. I may not know who Chubby Checker is, but I know when it’s time to disappear.”
“Yeah.”
“Good luck.”
*facepalms* Don’t let him close like that, you twit, he deliberately designed his damned sword to catch others, and to be a nasty piece of business with close work even if it doesn’t function so well that close.
Also, Kronos, there are mortals around, don’t expect a clean fight. *sighs, and facepalms some more*
Someone dug him up, he did not dig his way out of that grave. And I’m pretty sure the Texas Rangers took care of all the mortals Kronos had in his little band, so they’re not in the equation. Which means someone else did the digging, who wasn’t present at the shootout/sword fight.
*cackles merrily, and rubs hands together*
(This makes it so much easier to insert any number of people into the role of “dig up Kronos because he ain’t dead yet”.)
No, no, MacLeod, you idiot, do not go chasing after the ancient
evil… er, raider. Nomad. Something.Cut for length, and because there will be plenty more reblogs to come.
“I don’t want a drink!”
“Then you won’t mind if I have one. Look, it’s not every day I almost take my friend’s head by mistake.” *pause* “Or she takes mine.”
Ok, not so long later. Stuff under the cut because length. Also, warnings for mention of rape, torture, and abuse.
*giggles quietly* Oh, Methos, you are an adorable snarky little shit.
“It’s been a long time. How you feeling?”
“Like I left my heart in San Francisco.”
“I didn’t know you had a heart. Does it hurt?”
“What do you think?!”
“Since you ask? I think you’re not used to pain, brother. What’s happened; you got soft?”
“I just passed through my angry adolescence a little quicker than you, Kronos.”
*facepalms* Yes, yes it is, Kronos. *shakes head, and pets the hilt of the Ivanhoe for reassurance*
“I shouldn’t be surprised your still alive. You were always the one I counted on. You weren’t the strongest, or the toughest. But you were the survivor. It’s what you do best.” *pauses for effect* “Or did.”
*resigned* “So you’ve come to kill me.”
*laughs* “It’s what I do best!”
Less than two minutes into Comes a Horseman, and I’m already giggling (because Methos is adorkable). And also grinning evilly, because while I’ve forgotten some of the dialogue, I once had this episode and the one following it practically memorized.
The usual fun with music to show that they’re sensing another Immortal, and the look on Methos’s face is “oh shit”, and then there’s the dialogue, and he knows that Quickening, even if he doesn’t say so aloud.
“You expecting anyone?”
“Maybe it’s one of your fanclub.”
“Ok, there’s another way back. It’s a bit longer, but I prefer the view.”
“Yeah, send me a postcard.”
“You’re not coming?”
“No. I like to know who’s around.”
“Listen. I may not know who Chubby Checker is, but I know when it’s time to disappear.”
“Yeah.”
“Good luck.”
*facepalms* Don’t let him close like that, you twit, he deliberately designed his damned sword to catch others, and to be a nasty piece of business with close work even if it doesn’t function so well that close.
Also, Kronos, there are mortals around, don’t expect a clean fight. *sighs, and facepalms some more*
Someone dug him up, he did not dig his way out of that grave. And I’m pretty sure the Texas Rangers took care of all the mortals Kronos had in his little band, so they’re not in the equation. Which means someone else did the digging, who wasn’t present at the shootout/sword fight.
*cackles merrily, and rubs hands together*
(This makes it so much easier to insert any number of people into the role of “dig up Kronos because he ain’t dead yet”.)
No, no, MacLeod, you idiot, do not go chasing after the ancient
evil… er, raider. Nomad. Something.Cut for length, and because there will be plenty more reblogs to come.
“I don’t want a drink!”
“Then you won’t mind if I have one. Look, it’s not every day I almost take my friend’s head by mistake.” *pause* “Or she takes mine.”
Ok, not so long later. Stuff under the cut because length. Also, warnings for mention of rape, torture, and abuse.
*giggles quietly* Oh, Methos, you are an adorable snarky little shit.
“It’s been a long time. How you feeling?”
“Like I left my heart in San Francisco.”
“I didn’t know you had a heart. Does it hurt?”
“What do you think?!”
“Since you ask? I think you’re not used to pain, brother. What’s happened; you got soft?”
“I just passed through my angry adolescence a little quicker than you, Kronos.”
Less than two minutes into Comes a Horseman, and I’m already giggling (because Methos is adorkable). And also grinning evilly, because while I’ve forgotten some of the dialogue, I once had this episode and the one following it practically memorized.
The usual fun with music to show that they’re sensing another Immortal, and the look on Methos’s face is “oh shit”, and then there’s the dialogue, and he knows that Quickening, even if he doesn’t say so aloud.
“You expecting anyone?”
“Maybe it’s one of your fanclub.”
“Ok, there’s another way back. It’s a bit longer, but I prefer the view.”
“Yeah, send me a postcard.”
“You’re not coming?”
“No. I like to know who’s around.”
“Listen. I may not know who Chubby Checker is, but I know when it’s time to disappear.”
“Yeah.”
“Good luck.”
*facepalms* Don’t let him close like that, you twit, he deliberately designed his damned sword to catch others, and to be a nasty piece of business with close work even if it doesn’t function so well that close.
Also, Kronos, there are mortals around, don’t expect a clean fight. *sighs, and facepalms some more*
Someone dug him up, he did not dig his way out of that grave. And I’m pretty sure the Texas Rangers took care of all the mortals Kronos had in his little band, so they’re not in the equation. Which means someone else did the digging, who wasn’t present at the shootout/sword fight.
*cackles merrily, and rubs hands together*
(This makes it so much easier to insert any number of people into the role of “dig up Kronos because he ain’t dead yet”.)
No, no, MacLeod, you idiot, do not go chasing after the ancient evil… er, raider. Nomad. Something.
Cut for length, and because there will be plenty more reblogs to come.
Nomad who has entitlement issues, anger management issues, jealousy issues, probably was part of a culture where raiding was a Thing before his first death, spent a little too long isolated down a well, and adapts poorly to the changing world, more so the faster it changes. I mean, he adapts to the technology well, but the changing social mores and expectations… not as well, nor as quickly. I may have some headcanons about Kronos that involve a brain that works a lot like mine, except with a very different set of social expectations learned the hard way.
Although, prior to him showing up in canon, clearly not always so noticeably divergent that he has multiple memorable lives that are connected, despite his having a very distinctive scar on his face. Which means he can adapt, to a certain extent, but it’s probably exhausting, and eventually, he just runs out of ability to give a damn.
Yes, I know Kronos is not a nice person. He’s not a misunderstood person. He’s a person who needs to not be allowed loose in modern society because he is a danger to others, for a whole host of reasons*, none of which have to do with the neurodivergence I can see in him, and all of which have to do with his lack of desire to adapt even as much as he can. That does not negate any of the rest of it anymore than the rest of it negates this stuff. All of it taken together is what makes him so fascinating and fun to write for me.
He is a wonderful villain, he’s not a nice person, not even a good person by the moral standards I’m familiar with. He has the potential, though, to be that sort of person, given the right AU. And a small enough social circle. And sufficient impetus. None of which he has in canon.
*I may or may not mention those reasons in further reblogs of this, and will add trigger warnings as appropriate. Because these episodes do need them in places.
Less than two minutes into Comes a Horseman, and I’m already giggling (because Methos is adorkable). And also grinning evilly, because while I’ve forgotten some of the dialogue, I once had this episode and the one following it practically memorized.
The usual fun with music to show that they’re sensing another Immortal, and the look on Methos’s face is “oh shit”, and then there’s the dialogue, and he knows that Quickening, even if he doesn’t say so aloud.
“You expecting anyone?”
“Maybe it’s one of your fanclub.”
“Ok, there’s another way back. It’s a bit longer, but I prefer the view.”
“Yeah, send me a postcard.”
“You’re not coming?”
“No. I like to know who’s around.”
“Listen. I may not know who Chubby Checker is, but I know when it’s time to disappear.”
“Yeah.”
“Good luck.”
*facepalms* Don’t let him close like that, you twit, he deliberately designed his damned sword to catch others, and to be a nasty piece of business with close work even if it doesn’t function so well that close.
Also, Kronos, there are mortals around, don’t expect a clean fight. *sighs, and facepalms some more*
Someone dug him up, he did not dig his way out of that grave. And I’m pretty sure the Texas Rangers took care of all the mortals Kronos had in his little band, so they’re not in the equation. Which means someone else did the digging, who wasn’t present at the shootout/sword fight.
*cackles merrily, and rubs hands together*
(This makes it so much easier to insert any number of people into the role of “dig up Kronos because he ain’t dead yet”.)
Less than two minutes into Comes a Horseman, and I’m already giggling (because Methos is adorkable). And also grinning evilly, because while I’ve forgotten some of the dialogue, I once had this episode and the one following it practically memorized.
The usual fun with music to show that they’re sensing another Immortal, and the look on Methos’s face is “oh shit”, and then there’s the dialogue, and he knows that Quickening, even if he doesn’t say so aloud.
“You expecting anyone?”
“Maybe it’s one of your fanclub.”
“Ok, there’s another way back. It’s a bit longer, but I prefer the view.”
“Yeah, send me a postcard.”
“You’re not coming?”
“No. I like to know who’s around.”
“Listen. I may not know who Chubby Checker is, but I know when it’s time to disappear.”
“Yeah.”
“Good luck.”
*facepalms* Don’t let him close like that, you twit, he deliberately designed his damned sword to catch others, and to be a nasty piece of business with close work even if it doesn’t function so well that close.
Also, Kronos, there are mortals around, don’t expect a clean fight. *sighs, and facepalms some more*
There's a Mirror on the Wall 