Moonstruck in Silver

Fanblog

[thepromiscuousfinger]

[chaifootsteps]

#Please little bird

[meriwetherwrites]

I love that the modern-day tumblr post equivalent of chain emails only requires me to reblog a relatively pleasant image instead of forward an email to a bunch of my friends and family members to quell my raging anxiety.

[nightguardmod]

It’s a win win. I get a bit of hope, you get a cute birb photo

[the-haiku-bot]

It’s a win win. I

get a bit of hope, you get

a cute birb photo

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

[hlh-shortcuts]

Happy Holidays, Argentum_LS!

The Road Forward by Anonymous for argentum_ls Category: Gen Characters: Connor MacLeod, Richie Ryan Summary: On the cusp of the new millennium, Richie has been sent to New York for some training with Connor. But do you think these two are going to ignore a party this big? They're going to train. Really. Tomorrow.

[hlh-shortcuts]

Highlander Holiday Shortcuts 2025

HLH Shortcuts stories have begun releasing for this year!

You can read the currently-released stories at our ao3 collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/hlhshortcuts2025

We will be taking a short break on December 25th to allow for everyone to catch up on their reading.

If you'd like to join us on Discord, we're always welcoming new members: https://discord.gg/D2PevCnM

[hlagent]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/10 Fandom: Highlander: The Series Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Matthew McCormick & Original Character(s) Characters: Matthew McCormick, Original Characters Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Case Fic, Implied/Referenced Character Death, TV Logic, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, secrecy Series: Part 10 of Highlander: The Agent Summary:

A killer Matthew failed to stop decades ago resurfaces, and his secrecy regarding the depths of his connection to the investigation threatens his partnership with Talbot.

[killabeezish]

Sign up here. If you need an AO3 invite, please contact the mods. For those with a need to review AO3 processes: HLH Shortcuts AO3 Signup Guide by @teratornis HLH Shortcuts AO3 Submission Guide by @teratornis How to Default Your mods strongly encourage the use of betareaders, whether affiliated with the exchange or outside the exchange: Betareaders Wanted/Betareaders Available In case you need to review the 2025 dates: Sign Ups: October 1 to October 11, 2025 11:59PM CDT on AO3 Assignments handed out: no later than October 14, 2025 Default deadline: November 20, 2025 Submission deadline: December 15, 2025 First story posted: December 20, 2025

Join the Highlander Discord! Please share far and wide.

[only-cat-memes]

[spicyreyes]

I try and avoid engagementbait when I can but look at his EYES

[fozmeadows]

the only eyes it's right to describe as orbs

[ficwip]

[entishramblings]

Reblog if it is okay for people to randomly pop into your ask with questions about your fanfic(s)

[hlagent]

Chapters: 2/10 Fandom: Highlander: The Series Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Matthew McCormick & Original Characters Characters: Matthew McCormick, Original Characters Additional Tags: Case Fic, TV Logic, Kidnapping, Implied/Referenced Torture, Canon-Typical Violence Series: Part 8 of Highlander: The Agent Summary:

Matthew and Talbot take on a case investigating a serial killer whose victims were all carrying swords at the times of their deaths. It should be the kind of case they’re well prepared to handle, until an unexpected encounter proves just how dangerous this killer can be, even to an Immortal.

[hlagent]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Highlander: The Series Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Matthew McCormick, Duncan MacLeod Additional Tags: Phone Calls & Telephones, Mystery, information gathering Series: Part 7 of Highlander: The Agent Summary:

Matthew’s encounter with Derek Worth and Reverend Bell in Louisiana left him with some unanswered questions. He thinks he knows where he might find the information he needs.

[hlagent]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Highlander: The Series Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Matthew McCormick, Original Characters Additional Tags: Backstory, outside pov Series: Part 5 of Highlander: The Agent Summary:

As Matthew prepares for his new life, he’s not willing to let go of everything from his old one.

[wanderingjunkdrawer]

The voices in my head.

[flyingdreamsofpeace]

A masterpiece, as usual.

[hlagent]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Highlander: The Series Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Matthew McCormick, Original Characters, Thomas Powell, Duncan MacLeod, Joe Dawson Additional Tags: casefic lite, Prequel, Unexpected Encounters (subverted), Developing Friendships Series: Part 2 of Highlander: The Agent Summary:

Matthew’s first case with his new partner doesn’t exactly go as anyone hoped, and his own investigations lead to an encounter with an old acquaintance.

[argentum-ls]

See how Matthew and Talbot got their start working together in the first of the short "extras."

[hlagent]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 7/7 Fandom: Highlander: The Series Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Matthew McCormick, Original Characters Additional Tags: Case Fic, Post-Canon, Canon-Typical Violence, Temporary Character Death, TV Logic Series: Part 1 of Highlander: The Agent Summary:

Matthew McCormick’s position in the FBI faces a threat when a serial killer he and his partner, Francesca Talbot, are investigating learns too much.

[argentum-ls]

This is the first story in our fanfic series, Highlander: The Agent.

[hlagent]

Chapters: 1/9 Fandom: Highlander: The Series Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Matthew McCormick, Original Characters, Ceirdwyn Additional Tags: Case Fic, TV Logic, Canon Typical Violence, Canon Typical Adherence to Historical Veracity, crime scene descriptions Series: Part 3 of Highlander: The Agent Summary:

While investigating a gruesome case in a tiny Midwestern town, Matthew must contend with unexpected challenges both from the attitudes of the locals, and from his own unquiet memories.

[hlagent]

In Dead End, we get the first historical flashbacks of the series. These flashbacks were written, in part, to provide backstory for Matthew, but also, in Highlander tradition, to provide thematic parallels with the present-time events of the story. To write these flashbacks, we had to grab and pull onto a lot of threads that the canon (and canon-adjacent material) left dangling.

Matthew, and How He Began

The information about the origins Matthew is given in The Watcher's Chronicles is only a couple nuggets: his name, Matthew of Salisbury; the fact that his first death was in a jousting tournament in 1255; and that his teacher was Ceirdwyn ("Take Back the Night").

When Tornis and I first started trying to develop this character for his own "show," we knew we'd need much more backstory than that. So, I hit the books — and made a fascinating discovery.

The Earldom of Salisbury in the early 13th century was actually held by a woman: Ela Fitzpatrick, the daughter of William Fitzpatrick. She was given in marriage (along with her title, estates, money, etc.) to William Longsword (Longespée), one of the illegimate sons of Henry II, making him the third Earl of Salisbury and her the Countess. They had a son, also named William (1212-1250), who had a son, also named William (~1228-1257).

Besides the lineage, what surprised me was how nicely the dates lined up. It makes me wonder if the Highlander writers did some research before assigning Matthew his name.

What we didn't want from Matthew's backstory was for him to have been nobility. The dates align well-enough that he could have actually "been" William III—it would've been easy enough to say that the 1222-1255 dates for Matthew's life were recorded wrong in the Chronicles—, but we wanted to explore a different story. However, to have been in a jousting tournament, he would've needed to be a knight, and most knights were of noble birth. So, how to square the circle?

The story we crafted is that Matthew was one of the children who lived on the estate and were raised communally by the other workers. Orphans, extra children, and abandoned children were normal, so there's no reason one more couldn't sidle in.

It was also fairly normal for children of the aristocracy to be assigned companions who would be trained to support them. These companions weren't, and couldn't be, competitors for any titles or lands, so the future title-holder didn't have to worry (so much) about their loyalty.

Consequently, we decided that Ela plucked Matthew out of the crowd and assigned him to be the companion to her new grandson. This makes Matthew six years older than his charge, yet still young enough to have been essentially raised as a member of the family without being a member of the family.

We further decided that, when the time came for William to receive his honors, the Earl decided to bestow them on Matthew, as well. Thus making him Matthew of Salisbury. This way, the two could fight side-by-side, and hopefully increase William III's chances at actually inheriting the title that his grandmother still held. (Spoiler: He wouldn't).

In our version of events, Matthew has his first death in April 1255. We chose April 12th — for reasons I don't remember, though likely had to do with our understanding of tournament schedules — but was able to hide that death and stay on as Matthew of Salisbury thanks to Ceirdwyn.

She, we decided, entered the Salisbury household as a lady in waiting for Ela (or any of the other wives; this detail isn't important), and stayed because of her awareness of what lay in Matthew's future. When he was killed, she was able to secret his body away and keep anyone from discovering how fatal his injuries had been. Then, in order to be able to be close enough to him to train him, she talked the Countess into letting her and Matthew marry. As Matthew was already married, this took some finagling, but they figured it out.

The flashbacks of Dead End are focused on the after effects of the death of William III in his tournament in 1257. He was also killed in a joust — though, I turned it into a murder rather than a sporting accident. In the wake of losing his closest friend and blade-brother, Matthew snapped and turned into the single-minded, vengeful hunter we met him as in "Manhunt," necessitating Ceirdwyn to take extraordinary measures to try to bring him back to sanity.

With Matthew being only the companion and then needing to flee from that life, it's not difficult to see how his name and contemporary references to him might've been erased from history.

The story shared of William II dying on Crusade and his family learning about it from the bards is … partially true. He died on Crusade, for sure, and some pretty graphic verse was written about what happened. Whether or not that's how the news reached the family—or when—is wholly my invention.

And, in our reality, Ela outlived her husband, son, and grandson, and finally passed her title on to her great-granddaughter, Margaret.

For any conflicts or impossibilities in our stories with the historical details, remember that we're talking about Highlander. If an established detail can't bend in service of the plot, then what use is it?

[teratornis]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/7 Fandom: Highlander: The Series Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Matthew McCormick, Original Characters Additional Tags: Case Fic, Post-Canon, Canon-Typical Violence, Temporary Character Death, TV Logic Series: Part 1 of Highlander: The Agent Summary: Matthew McCormick’s position in the FBI faces a threat when a serial killer he and his partner, Francesca Talbot, are investigating learns too much.

Matthew’s steps echoed faintly from the close alley walls, making a sharp sound on the damp concrete. It was misting more than raining by now, but that didn’t make his job any easier for the moment.

 This was the last thing he wanted to be doing. Chasing a killer through side streets and back alleys was always close to a worst-case scenario. There were too many variables, even at this time of night. Too many potential hostages, too much potential collateral damage, and way, way too many blind corners.