ithildin | And It Was Cool

dejla and I spend a lot of time entertaining ourselves by analyzing the characters in our fic, usually in her comments, since her place is just so much tidier than mine and with better snacks. Yet again today, there I was hanging out, shooting the proverbial breeze, being a comment hog, and an anvil fell on my head (not a real one) (just in case you were wondering). I had this sudden insight into the characters in one of my series that had never occurred to me after nearly ten years! And it was cool! And I was pleased! And no, I know this is of no interest to 99% of you, but sometimes, I just need to hear myself type to sort it all out [g] And anyway, most of you probably filter me out anyway, so I'm bothering even less of you than I normally would. Or something like that. Hah!

So as you were. Have a snack and a drink on your way out. Don't forget your hats and purses. Come back soon!

A Bit Later:

Bear with me here. This is in regards to my Bloodties series, and at

dejla's we were talking about Lacroix's relationship with Methos. This was my original commment:

That's why he sought out LaCroix in the first place, when he first met Triona. Alexa had just died, and he needed a diversion. And he loves winding LaCroix up. As Triona told LaCroix, "He's only ever Methos to you." Methos doesn't have to be anyone else with LaCroix, he's never been anyone else to him. I think that's an important component in the triangle. Oh, heck! I just thought of something so blazingly obvious that I can't believe it never occurred to me before![mutters and wanders away to ponder]

A while ago, I'd said that Methos joined a vampire family unit. Which is still true. LaCroix's 'family' includes Methos, always has from his POV, since their relationship started when LaCroix was mortal. They've been family, traveled together, been there for each other in times of crisis, over the last 2000 years. Methos has been a constant in LaCroix's life. One of the few people he's sees as an equal.

Other than a cruel quirk of fate, Triona would be LaCroix's vampire fledgling, or child. While she isn't a true vampire, she does have a fledgling's bond with LaCroix. So in a way, Triona was added to the family unit LaCroix and Methos already had.

What was my sudden insight? That Immortals tend to be solitary. And then there's Methos. Consider how long he spent with Kronos and the gang. For all intents and purposes, an Immortal family unit. They considered themselves brothers. So in retrospect, his relationship with LaCroix and Triona isn't that odd. It's an arrangement like he's been used to being in. It's comforting in its normalcy. I never really looked at it from that perspective before. I've seen it from LaCroix's POV, and from Triona's, and the difficulty she has with the unusual relationship she shares with both Methos and LaCroix. But Methos' POV? I'm not sure I'd ever quite reached a conclusion. But this works for me.

And if you move this from my fic to the actual series, that need for a family unit explains something about Methos. He's been married so many times. He obviously likes being part of a family. And it explains hanging around Duncan and Joe, and by extension, their extended family. For him, normal is being a part of a family group, not a solitary existence.