Great Unfinished Fics - Part II
Thanks to some wonderful comments on the last post, I have more to add to the list of Great Unfinished Highlander Fics...
The list is by no means complete, and includes only stuff I've read and loved, so I'm not including some obvious fandom favorites like Eng's Chaos Chronicles - I've never been able to get much past the first few parts of that one. Consider this a personal selection. Also, I'm not including stories which seem likely to be updated in the near(ish) future, like
macgeorge1's Origins or
unovis_lj's Bees, Clothing, or Poor Roger series.
Onward...
Armed Intervention Series by Paula Stiles. This is a long series of stories which can stand alone fairly well. Only the last in the series, "A Sea of Fate," remains incomplete. Featuring a majorly fractured and fucked-up Methos in the wake of the Ahriman affair and a great, no-nonsense, compassionate Joe, this series takes the characters as we know them and twists them a degree from canon. They're recognizably Joe and Methos, but become products of the author's imagined world and not the world of the show. If that makes any sense. I especially love her OC Rene Galbon and her Stephen Keane - Immortal Groupie. Paula asks just what would it take for a 5,000 man to lose his mind, and how exactly would you help him if he did?
As Time Goes By series by Nutmeg9cat, hosted on Sylvia Volk's page (scroll down). I'll let
juniperphoenix rec this one since she's so eloquent; but first I have to interject that this series is a rarity in that it features a solid DM/Methos friendship where both men have their own lives and story arcs. so.
juniperphoenix writes:
It's a post-Endgame series in which Duncan searches for the next millennial Champion, and it's absolutely phenomenal. It's plotty and complex, but not difficult to follow, and features wonderful characterizations of the whole gang (plus some less-frequently-seen characters like Rebecca and Amy, and even a sympathetic Cassandra). There are four stories in the series so far. Seriously… run, don't walk.
The Phoenician Caper, by
lastrega Oh, I'd forgotten about this gem. It has to be one of the funniest HL stories going, even in its incomplete state. There's not a brood in sight. Snark, thy name is Sonia.
Methos snatched the strip of black silk up from the dresser and looped around the back of his neck, turning towards the mirror again as he re-buttoned his shirt collar. "Did you know that the man who invented bowties was hung?"
"Is that so?" Behind him, reflected in the bright glass, the corner of Duncan's mouth twitched. "But was he well-hung?"
Watching himself, Methos saw the smirk he was trying to hide from Duncan. "I hadn't realized it was possible to be four hundred going on twelve," he sniped.
The Shield Brothers Arc by
maygra . Another fandom classic, left sadly unfinished. Again, I'd forgotton about this one because the various parts stand well on their own. Like Armed Intervention, this is a version of the HL world that is quite different from canon, and the characters (especially Methos) are not who we see on screen; but then they are convincing possibilities, and hold up because the world is so solidly constructed. Fanfic, by the nature of the beast, can comfortably contain such a wide range of visions that even if the characters aren't your versions, they still work. If that makes sense. Anyway.
maygra 's Methos is doomed, and knows it. And she creates one of the most memorable tragedies in the fandom. Also, please take her warnings seriously. I'm not big on warnings, but these stories are very dark and violent. That's saying alot, in a fandom where beheading is canon.
The Clock Strikes Twelve by Sylvia Volk. This is the first in a trio of stories making up an unnamed series that has yet to be completed. Sylvia has an amazing touch with historical detail and imbues her stories with a mythic sense that is unique. It's the far future. Amanda stumbles across something she doesn't understand, some strange secret between MacLeod and Methos that they defend at all costs.
She had been on the run for days.
A single mistake now, and she would perish slowly, dragged down by dozens of little hands and dismembered till, under the teeth of her hunters, she met the final death. Every time she stopped to rest, she felt them closing in. And now their presence was like a teasing flavor on the air . . . the abominations, the unnatural things. The immortal children.
When her step slowed, she caught a first glimpse of one through the jazzy silhouettes of the crowd. It was a nightmare contrast. The thing she saw was naked, grimy, a goblin with hard ungainly limbs. Unkempt elf-locks hung over its face. There was only that one glimpse, but the child broke into a sudden grin. Its tongue slid sideways over its lips, its eyes grew big and wet with lust--then it vanished like a ghost.
There are more,
jotribe gave me quite a few to mull over - and a few I don't think I've read. But that's it for today. Guess it will be an ongoing series!
The list is by no means complete, and includes only stuff I've read and loved, so I'm not including some obvious fandom favorites like Eng's Chaos Chronicles - I've never been able to get much past the first few parts of that one. Consider this a personal selection. Also, I'm not including stories which seem likely to be updated in the near(ish) future, like
macgeorge1's Origins or
unovis_lj's Bees, Clothing, or Poor Roger series.
Onward...
Armed Intervention Series by Paula Stiles. This is a long series of stories which can stand alone fairly well. Only the last in the series, "A Sea of Fate," remains incomplete. Featuring a majorly fractured and fucked-up Methos in the wake of the Ahriman affair and a great, no-nonsense, compassionate Joe, this series takes the characters as we know them and twists them a degree from canon. They're recognizably Joe and Methos, but become products of the author's imagined world and not the world of the show. If that makes any sense. I especially love her OC Rene Galbon and her Stephen Keane - Immortal Groupie. Paula asks just what would it take for a 5,000 man to lose his mind, and how exactly would you help him if he did?
As Time Goes By series by Nutmeg9cat, hosted on Sylvia Volk's page (scroll down). I'll let
juniperphoenix rec this one since she's so eloquent; but first I have to interject that this series is a rarity in that it features a solid DM/Methos friendship where both men have their own lives and story arcs. so.
juniperphoenix writes:
It's a post-Endgame series in which Duncan searches for the next millennial Champion, and it's absolutely phenomenal. It's plotty and complex, but not difficult to follow, and features wonderful characterizations of the whole gang (plus some less-frequently-seen characters like Rebecca and Amy, and even a sympathetic Cassandra). There are four stories in the series so far. Seriously… run, don't walk.
The Phoenician Caper, by
lastrega Oh, I'd forgotten about this gem. It has to be one of the funniest HL stories going, even in its incomplete state. There's not a brood in sight. Snark, thy name is Sonia.
Methos snatched the strip of black silk up from the dresser and looped around the back of his neck, turning towards the mirror again as he re-buttoned his shirt collar. "Did you know that the man who invented bowties was hung?"
"Is that so?" Behind him, reflected in the bright glass, the corner of Duncan's mouth twitched. "But was he well-hung?"
Watching himself, Methos saw the smirk he was trying to hide from Duncan. "I hadn't realized it was possible to be four hundred going on twelve," he sniped.
The Shield Brothers Arc by
maygra . Another fandom classic, left sadly unfinished. Again, I'd forgotton about this one because the various parts stand well on their own. Like Armed Intervention, this is a version of the HL world that is quite different from canon, and the characters (especially Methos) are not who we see on screen; but then they are convincing possibilities, and hold up because the world is so solidly constructed. Fanfic, by the nature of the beast, can comfortably contain such a wide range of visions that even if the characters aren't your versions, they still work. If that makes sense. Anyway.
maygra 's Methos is doomed, and knows it. And she creates one of the most memorable tragedies in the fandom. Also, please take her warnings seriously. I'm not big on warnings, but these stories are very dark and violent. That's saying alot, in a fandom where beheading is canon.
The Clock Strikes Twelve by Sylvia Volk. This is the first in a trio of stories making up an unnamed series that has yet to be completed. Sylvia has an amazing touch with historical detail and imbues her stories with a mythic sense that is unique. It's the far future. Amanda stumbles across something she doesn't understand, some strange secret between MacLeod and Methos that they defend at all costs.
She had been on the run for days.
A single mistake now, and she would perish slowly, dragged down by dozens of little hands and dismembered till, under the teeth of her hunters, she met the final death. Every time she stopped to rest, she felt them closing in. And now their presence was like a teasing flavor on the air . . . the abominations, the unnatural things. The immortal children.
When her step slowed, she caught a first glimpse of one through the jazzy silhouettes of the crowd. It was a nightmare contrast. The thing she saw was naked, grimy, a goblin with hard ungainly limbs. Unkempt elf-locks hung over its face. There was only that one glimpse, but the child broke into a sudden grin. Its tongue slid sideways over its lips, its eyes grew big and wet with lust--then it vanished like a ghost.
There are more,
jotribe gave me quite a few to mull over - and a few I don't think I've read. But that's it for today. Guess it will be an ongoing series!