Note: This is an old post from another journal (of mine) that's flocked, so I'm just moving over here mostly so I can show it to fairestcat. Yes, these are all old fics; I haven't read anything recent. I don't really remember what I say here, but fair warning I'm not usually a fan of Methos/Duncan slash, so that may come up. And I mean, I really didn't like it. This is locked because the last time I posted about D/M, I was not part of HL fandom and had few readers and I got really snarktastic... and then HL fandom noticed. It was--really embarrassing. *facepalm* So if you want to discuss the merits of D/M slash... let's please not.
ETA: Briefly unlocked.
**
Short (yet verbose) List of Highlander Methos Recs. Only the shiniest.
Contents:
Sylvia Volk's MethosWinterborne by Beck and other storiesSandra MacDonald's Methos"The Freshest and the Best" by JuladShrift's Methos"Darling Boy" by Teresa C"Metempsychosis by JaquezKat Allison's Methos"Lost" by Jam-wired"Black Sand" by Jeanne Rose"Going Forth by Day" by Torch"One Thousand" by Amanda-r Also,
the slash short list, put together neatly from fics listed elsewhere on this page of recommendations.
1
http://members.shaw.ca/sylviavolk/ Sylvia Volk's page of fanfiction. A large number of loosely tied stories that feature Methos, dating from the bronze age to 200 years into the future.
I cannot overstate how wonderful these are. One of the biggest failings in Methos fics is that the character the author is written is simply not five thousand years old. None of these stories I've recommended will have that failing, but you will never feel the history in the others the way you do in these. As the author describes herself, "I eat nonfiction, spit out fiction."
She brings together all this research with not only a spectacular Methos but also a really brilliant concept of immortals as a whole, what they are and where they come from. Her Methos and Duncan have a powerful closeness/friendship/whatever, but she doesn't fall into the trap of trying too hard to explain it. Easy communication ruins a lot of Methos and Duncan stories. Methos isn't Methos if he doesn't keep everyone guessing, including you. Also, she drops great hints of Methos as a teacher. In fact, all her stories involve a lot of hinting that you have to put together. It means you can reread her stories a dozen times and feel like you're getting smarter.
Also, a plus: Duncan, Joe, and Amanda all show up and really shine. Also some flashbacks with Rebecca and Methos. I have a soft spot for Methos and Rebecca stuff. It's just fun. If you like the horsemen, read "Adamas", "That Which Survives", and "the Reflecting Pool". Brilliant Kronos. With the exception by Jaquez (mentioned below) it's possibly the only Kronos worth reading.
For the most part, these can be read out of order, but I would recommend either starting at the beginning with the horsemen ("Adamas"
http://members.shaw.ca/sylviavolk/Adamas.htm) or with "Millenium" (
http://members.shaw.ca/sylviavolk/Millennium.htm) which is not related to any of her other stories, but is both exciting and sad--and apocalyptic. After Millenium, you might try The Good Student (
http://members.shaw.ca/sylviavolk/TheGoodStudent.htm), which is a part of the larger series set in present day, in which Methos is snarky and an old student of MacLeod's mistakes him for less than he is.
The other high point of Volk's Methos for me are his wives. She writes about several of them (out of 68), and they're all so different and so engaging that you love Methos a little more for loving these women. A good place to start: Ayesha (who appears in three stories) in
Lost Horizon 2 3 4 2
http://www.athers.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/beck/beck.htm -Beck McLaughlin. Specifically, "Winterborne" by Beck. Perfection! A near post-apocalyptic future in which humans fear and hunt immortals. America and other parts of the world dissolved into civil war decades ago. Now, it's forty years later and one immortal prisoner is being released... as bait.
Sylvia Volk's Methos devoured my heart and soul as soon as I read it, but Beck's Methos... might top that. He's old, he's tired, he's heartbreakingly human, and he just doesn't give up because to him, there is no fate worse than death. In fact, he pulls you in so fast, he catches you by surprise every time Beck reminds you that he's still as dangerous as you didn't think he was. What he says and what he does have less than a passing aquaintance with each other - something that's really hard to accomplish convincingly. And when it is... it warms my special Methos cockles.
The world is believeable, the plot is gripping, Duncan is likeable, loveable, sweet, and full of ass kicking, and Methos... is himself. A lot of what makes this story so engrossing is the friendship between Duncan and Methos, strange and yet powerful. Gets me everytime. Love! Awe! Warm happy feelings! *wipes away a tear* Sorry, these first two recs are like my own personal Methos gods. Read also the interlude and the sequel ("Mayfair").
There is a also a story here called "Redemption" which is about Methos and Cassandra - highly recommended.
The other series on this page is called Mythos. It's written by Beck, so it's readable but it quickly turns into "So... when does Methos get raped next? It's been an entire chapter!" I have a soft spot for the first entry in the series, if only for Amanda's rescue of Methos towards the beginning. Priceless! Amanda is another character who kicks ass under the radar. Silly but formidable, as she should be. Also, by the end of it, despite the character abuse and monumental Mary Sue of a bad guy, I did believe the Methos/Duncan slash, and that never happens. Well, there are a few notable exceptions, which will be mentioned here.
Namely this one:
http://becca.slashcity.net/weekends.htm -The Weekend Series by Becca Abbott (also called Beck McLaughlin). It figures that the only Methos/Duncan slash that really, really manages to make me love it, without reservation, would turn out to be a series of one shot PWP kinky sex fics. But, my god, these are hilarious and Methos is at his sneaky best. A lot of people could role play prostitute and customer, but only Methos would bash Duncan on the head afterwards and steal his wallet.
These are on a page of her adult fanfiction:
http://becca.slashcity.net/index2.html , which has some other stuff I don't like as much. There's a second sequal to Mythos with more character abuse... and a slash version of the Winterborne interlude, which really just ruins a lot of the tension and affection between Methos and Duncan in that story by making it romantic. Don't read it unless you've already read Winterborne and are dying of curiousity. Still, even these have a better characterization of Methos than a lot of stories that get recommended widely (for no apparent reason). This explains why, despite warning you off, I've read them all.
3
Need also to find the links to Sandra MacDonald's stories. However, I remember these being out of order and not clearly divided into "Methos" and "not Methos" for my convenience.
Sandra MacDonald is another of the masters of the Methos. She consistently succeeds at making him both ROG and a human being. The best stories are more about real life (though the author does have a tendency to get our heroes out of trouble through very fantastic means). Less ass whooping, as it were. But real life can be fun (and gut wrenching) too.
For example, because this author likes Richie, you get to see the not so smooth Richie and Methos relationship that often gets ignored. Glee. The only reason these aren't my favorites is because they don't focus on the strange friendship between Methos and Duncan. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the Methos and Macleod rocky friendship thing.
http://users.erols.com/darkpanther/HL/methpage.html#Sandra_MacDonald A few of Sandra MacDonald's stories. Specifically, her stories about Methos and Connor in WWII. "Wars We Choose", "Battles We Lose", and "Victories We Claim"
4
http://yearningvoid.net/julad/ -Julad's main page
http://yearningvoid.net/julad/freshest.html -"The Freshest and the Best" by Julad. A hilarious, unexpected, yet utterly believeable look at Methos and Duncan in the not too distant future. Short, light-hearted, complete. As highly recommended as what came before, but for different reasons.
(the only Highlander fic by this author. I weep.)
5
http://bifictionalbedlam.slashcity.net/shrift/highlander.html Shrift's Highlander fanfiction. Read all of them. My favorites are the crossover with Good Omens, which possesses a clever sort of silliness, and the two-part "Like Swimming" series ("I Know You" and "Swing It Low"). The latter is story 2 on the slash short list, which I will list again at the end of the recs, and also has some good bits with Joe.
The author also writes for a variety of fandoms and helps run a large fanfiction recs page called "Polyamous Recommendations". (For example, utterly off topic, but
Big Damn Zombies, Sir by Shrift is required reading for television show Firefly.)
6
http://archiveofourown.org/users/Teresa_C . Teresa C's fanfiction. I recommend "Darling Boy" -
http://archiveofourown.org/works/160592 . It reads like a regular episode, except better. Methos and Amanda have great lines, and Joe gets to take a big part in the plot, a real plus. It takes place before the Horsemen episodes and there's some delicious foreshadowing of Methos' nasty past. I love the paradox of Adam Pierson vs. Methos and the hints that what you see, isn't necessarily what you get.
7
http://www.dementia.org/~jacquez/writing/hlindex.html -Jaquez's highlander fic page. I wouldn't leap to recommend this page as a whole because some of it gets a little too odd for me, and on the average, has too many references to fucking goats. But there is some really good stuff too because the strangeness works well with Methos. Specifically, "Metempsychosis":
http://www.dementia.org/~jacquez/writing/hlfic/metempsychosis.html . The author's summary is "Methos finally loses his head." (it's one of her two different takes on that premise, but it's by far the better one.) I tend to recommend it in the same breath as "The Freshest and the Best", if only because it's short, simple, and both original and brilliant. The difference is that "The Freshest and the Best" is funny and this one is creepy. Okay, funny too but twisted as hell.
Also, I suggest this Cassandra fic
http://www.dementia.org/~jacquez/writing/hlfic/days_forsaken.html because it's different. And short.
And this horsemen fic:
http://www.dementia.org/~jacquez/writing/hlfic/once.html which is simply a pleasure to read. Lyrical and lovely. It won me over with the descriptions of Death's horses and with the color of Methos' eyes. Overall, perhaps a little too sweet on Kronos (the mass murder and sadism are obstacles for me), but I forgive it.
8
http://www.kat.mrks.org/ -Kat Allison's fic. Though these have less in the way of creepy events, I'd almost say they're creepier than the last. Behold the truly alien Methos. He's sarcastic and jaded and devastating and it gives me the cold shivers because it convinces me. They are all good. They usually reference a Methos/Duncan relationship, but the complete absence of sap may be why it doesn't bother me.
"Strata" is the only sweet story (but not my favorite: my favorite is "September Song"). "Strata" is Duncan/Methos. The sex feels unnecessary, as if Duncan's motivation could have done without lust, but it's not jarring like it usually is because Methos is in character and the story's funny and engaging. This is story 3 on the short list of Methos/Duncan slash I don't want to mail to myself so I can smash it with a hammer.
9
http://www.seventh-dimension.org/stories/Jamwired/Lost.txt -Lost by Jam-wired. This is story 4 on the slash short list. It's very short, and it's hilarious. Drunken Methos wanders Paris on the way to the barge, talking to himself and fantasizing. It won me over by ending the way it should, and by not turning into "the charming bit the author only wrote to introduce tedious sex in the second half". Also, if you aren't hooked by the time it gets to the 'poetic' joke, you are a soulless human being.
(looking for author main page, haven't found it)
10
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Nebula/1469/fanfic/blacksand.html"Black Sand" by Jeanne Rose. Methos and Cassandra without villanizing either one.
11
http://www.strangeplaces.net/torch/goingforth.html "Going Forth by Day" by Torch. Short, but unexpectedly sweet at the end.
12
http://www10.brinkster.com/amandr/fiction/thousand.html One Thousand by Amanda-r. A creepy gathering fic. It's Duncan/Methos slash and there may be explicit sex in it, but I don't remember much about it other than the end making the whole thing worth it.
Duncan/Methos slash short list.
I don't like D/M slash for a few reasons. Basically, because the gen in this fandom is better and it won me over fast; and because Methos' characterization doesn't stand up well to romantic cliches. And HL fandom seemed to be big on epic romances. I ended up reading a bunch of stories in which Methos says seriously, "I've never _____ before." And a bunch of stories in which Methos and Ducan's inability to, uh, *cough*quit*cough* each other is put down to lust/their true love. Stories where they didn't have that excuse are more interesting to me. *shrugs* In some fandoms, I want that. In this one, not so much. But not all slash is like that! Correct! Here are the ones I liked best:
The Weekends Series by Becca Abbott
Like Swimming:
part one and
part two by Shrift
The Freshest and the Best by Julad (note: effectively not slash, since the reason to read the story is the interaction, not the lure of possible, future mansex. It made the 'slash short list' because the subtle attraction is there and because Methos... well, you'll see.)
Strata by Kat Allison
Lost by Jam-wired
Note: I wouldn't rec it if it weren't worth reading, regardless of whatever slash may or may not be present.