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Complete With Sword and Head Held High by Ushmushmeifa - T

Discussion in 'The Alternates' started by Orm Embar, Jun 11, 2008.

  1. Orm Embar

    Orm Embar Auror

    Joined:
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    Messages:
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    Location:
    On the shores of Selidor
    Title: With Sword and Head Held High
    Author: Ushmushmeifa
    Rating: T
    Genre: General
    Recommended DLP category: The Alternate's
    Pairing: N/A
    Chapters: 11
    Words: 44,837
    Updated: September 6, 2006
    Published: November 4, 2005

    Status: Complete
    Summary: A demon, a sword, and a 500 year old grudge come back to haunt Professor McGonagall. Complete. [Highlander – Harry Potter crossover]
    Link: The Story

    Yes, it's a crossover, but it's actually well-written. While the story itself doesn't really fit in with some of the stories posted here, I thought it at least deserved to be mentioned. Fans of the tv series or the movies might enjoy this one, while people who don't know them might be a bit confused. I'll go ahead and warn prospective readers that the story isn't centered around Harry, though he does feature in it. It focuses more on Snape and McGonagall, and the former is slightly out of character. Essentially, try it before you knock it; it's a good read.


    Checked by Minion, January 6, 2013
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 6, 2013
  2. Richard

    Richard Supreme Mugwump

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    An odd story. It was pretty decent I suppose. Better than the average story. 3.5 from me.
     
  3. Dr. Strange Lulz

    Dr. Strange Lulz Denarii Host DLP Supporter

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    I haven't paid attention to Highlander in quite a while, kinda missed Methos.

    Twas alright I suppose. Bit on the slow side, followed by kind of a deus ex machina in the form of Methos. Not really a fair fight by any standards, a 5,000 year old immortal who used to literally be Death as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse... I mean come on.
     
  4. Jearom

    Jearom Sixth Year

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    I remember reading this a while back and wishing there were more Highlander/HP crossover fics. But then I realized most of it would be crapy excuses for Harry to run around with swords and ignore curses, which in turn would lead to more shitty Katana-wielding Harry fics.

    That said, this story is well written and very enjoyable despite not being Harry-centric.

    Mainly because Harry is not immortal and does not run around with a sword.

    4/5.
     
  5. Antivash

    Antivash Until we meet again... DLP Supporter Retired Staff

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    Mmm. I'd like to see a Harry as Pestilence fic, but that'd probably be as infinitely shitty as it sounds. :/
     
  6. knothead

    knothead Groundskeeper

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    Easily 4 stars. A very nice little story.
     
  7. darklordmike

    darklordmike Headmaster

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    Holy. Fucking. Shit.

    I cannot believe this story hasn't received more attention. From the perspective of sheer storytelling prowess, this is one of the best stories I've ever read, fanfiction or otherwise.

    Seriously. It's 44k words of perfection. And I'm not even a huge fan of the Highlander series. This fic is as epic and unique in its own way as 'Evil Be Thou My Good.'

    Don't be scared off by McGonagall's prominent role here. Harry shares just as much of the spotlight as she does. Read it. Now.

    5/5
     
  8. ParseltonguePhoenix

    ParseltonguePhoenix Unspeakable

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    Pretty damn good. Writing is excellent, especially for an older fic. I like the way McGonogall and Snape were written, showing some characterization differently than canon was quite a nice touch.

    5/5 for style, characterization and such, minus 1/5 for the weird use of the prophecy, and I give it a 4/5 overall.
     
  9. kmfrank

    kmfrank Denarii Host DLP Supporter

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    I agree - a damn fine story.

    Left me wanting more Highlander.

    I disagree with Parseltongue, though, in that I didn't like Snape's characterization much - he was far too sympathetic to Harry and the rest. McGonagall didn't get enough screen time for me to really love her character either.

    Though I might like to see more Methos...

    The only problem I could see of Immortal Harry (who accidentally chopped one's head off as a kid or something) would that the start of it might look an awful lot like Denarian Renegade - and once he gets a sword...hai2u Denarian Knight.

    That said, I'd probably still read it.

    This gem, however, gets a 4.5/5 - I'll have to rate it a 4 though, because the Snape really bugged me.
     
  10. Warlocke

    Warlocke Fourth Champion

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    I remember this story and disliked it for one very important reason: Magic doesn't affect the immortals. At All. A Sectumsempra washes over them like a cool breeze.

    Horse shit. It makes the story way too boring when there are these nigh on totally invincible guys running around doing all the important stuff.

    Gee, I wonder who's going to win, the squishy wizard who fights with magic, or the guy who can only be permanently killed by decapitation and is unaffected by magic?

    An Incendio should burn them, a piercing curse should pierce them, a Sectumsempra should carve them like a Christmas ham. They just heal faster afterwards and if it kills them, they get back up. Isn't that good enough, do they really have to be immune to magic too?

    I've seen this same thing done with Slayers in HP/Buffy crossovers and it has the same effect there, requiring even more suspension of disbelief, and sucking the enjoyment out of the story by removing much of the danger (and turning slayers/immortals into Sues/Stus).

    No matter how well written it is otherwise, for me this is a deathblow the story simply can't recover from. No thank you.

    And Methos's explanation of how him stealing the Voldemort kill from Harry doesn't invalidate the prophecy because it could refer to him is totally asinine. Sure, Methos was born to people who thrice defied Voldemort... a zillion years before Voldemort was born.

    That he's so dismissive of Harry's concerns over something that has taken nearly everything from him and has been ruining his life since birth, makes him an ass on top of everything else.
    That Harry plays the confused, useless, cowering wimp in more than a few scenes is a another strike against it.

    It's basically a story about how awesome the immortals are and how impotent wizards are, from McGonagall's clan oath all the way to the shit ending. It's "The Awesome Immortals Show: Now in Potter-esque flavor."

    Stus with Sword would be a suitable alternate title.
     
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2009
  11. darklordmike

    darklordmike Headmaster

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    You make a fair point, Warlocke, and one that I think would be damning if the story were actually conceived as a battle between wizards and Immortals. The McGonagall clan thinks they're chasing down some demon that needs to die, and it's only at the end of the story that Minerva realizes how misguided the initial oath was.

    Likewise, it's only at the end of the story that we realize that none of the wizards ever really stood a chance against the Immortals. That's not a problem, because this story isn't about that potential fight. It's about Voldemort biting off more than he can chew. The Immortals become involved here almost by accident, and the suspense is riveting because we don't know what their motives are. Will they join Voldemort and make him invincible? Will MacLeod hunt down and kill McGonagall because she has the sword?

    I made the comparison between this and 'Evil Be Thou My Good' because the wizards are hopelessly outmatched in that story too. It's not a problem there, and it's not a problem here. I agree that the prophecy situation was handled poorly, but the rest of the story is so well-told that it didn't matter to me by that point.