#dougal tag

[pierog]

DOUGAL IN A RAINJACKET

[itsmeyourmentalillness]

Happy 19th birthday, Smosh!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[dino--draws]

TL-5956 Survival Headcanons

Involving: Some bending of the rules to make it more likely for these guys to have survived for 12+ years and counting, the likelihood I misread at least one part of how this all works so please don’t kill me, various overthinking shenanigans, me being a lil mean to characters, and my unabashed mental illness

and a sizable amount of text under the read more (not even kidding it’s like 1,500+ words LMAO)

THE PARADOX

Exclusively red monochromacy. This is not a visual filter sort of effect, everything has turned red. This actually isn’t a head canon it’s something Harry told me and it fucks me up. Actually a lot of this specific section is shit from the article itself that I’m emphasizing for fun.

The sky has become pitch black, and the horizon is rimmed by red like a macabre sunset. There is no difference between night and day. The sun will never rise here again.

Site-43 remains the single most stable area in the wake of the K-Class Paradox, and is considered the last bastion of human civilization. The rest of the world is left a nonsensical, contradictory wasteland due to spatial and temporal damages. Any entity you find roaming those reddened wastes are no longer what they once were. Do not engage, for those who wander are lost.

Randomized increases and decreases in the number of perceivable temporal dimensions results in visual distortion of surroundings. Added extrasensory perceptions may increase this disorientation in survivors. It takes a lot of getting used to, that constant bombardment.

Due to condensation of vaporous substances, there has been a sharp global temperature increase. Everything is humid.

Site-43 Condition

The following parts of the Site are lost/heavily damaged: 

Euclid and Keter Class Wings of the Security and Containment Sections [Detonated, First Sublevel is functionally abandoned due to instability]

Applied Occultism [Second Sublevel, damaged by detonation and other breach occurances]

Archives and Revisions Section [Burned]

All underwater site facilities and utilities. [Completely destroyed] 

With each instance of the breach, all areas that were previously destroyed become reverted to their 2002 states, then re-destroyed. This results in these locations being able to be scrapped and harvested for functionally renewable supplies after each amelioration of the breach. These salvaged supplies only vanish with the causal loop’s reset if they are left within their original area. 

Due to the heavy damage done to the First Sublevel of the site, the Second Sublevel is left similarly unstable structurally and partially collapsed. Both Sublevels are abandoned sans annual gathering of supplies. 

The Third Sublevel of the Site remains the most structurally stable and safest part of Site-43, the surviving personnel remain here. 

The Inner-Sectional Subway System is no longer in operation due to sustained damages during the breach, but its tunnels are still utilized for transportation to different areas of the Site by foot. 

Site’s power remains in operation, requires vigorous upkeep.

Food/Water

Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) rations were the primary food source for several years as research was directed towards the creation of a renewable food supply. They have a metric fuck ton of rations to work with, but it's always smart to look for alternatives Just In Case, y'know?

Due to the fact that everything is red, and there is a notable lack of a sun, growing traditional plants is out of the equation because I don’t think we’re photosynthesizing in these conditions. However, what they can grow and cultivate is things such as mushrooms and algaes! Utilizing waste from the site as fertilizer, gathering soil, and perhaps a bit of GE to make sure they’re not eating anything toxic and getting the right vitamins — they can grow food. It’ll take work, but can be done with enough care. Keeping out mold will be a nightmare but god love 'em they're trying.

A handful of stray storage closets and part of the Hiring and Regulation Section have been converted into spaces for food growing

There is probably a whole bunch of shit they could science their way through when it comes to synthesizing food that isnt just mushroom farming tbh. Like turning petroleum and CO2 into food

Bottled water stores ran out swiftly. Water is primarily gathered through the usage of moisture traps (see: increased humidity). Due to SCP-001-A the harvesting of these traps are risky endeavors, and require a pre-setup of dilution equipment to ensure a lack of reflectivity. This harvested liquid is then abated to reduce risk of anomalous effects, and stored/distributed to personnel. Prior to his death in 2023, Dougall Deering would accompany those harvesting to ensure 001-A’s pacification. 

Any and all site wastewater is subjected to purification processes to acquire as much drinkable water as possible. Nothing goes to waste.  

Lake Huron itself and any groundwater adjacent to the site is unreachable and unusable due to SCP-001-B and SCP-001-C. 

There’s probably a vending machine or two that’s caught up in the 2002 causal loop reset that they can loot each year. They can have some treats, as a treat. 

For all I know this is one of those weird space-time situations where no one actually needs to eat or drink but sshhhhh it's fun to think about

Supplies

After each causal loop, the areas of the Site that are restored and re-destroyed are functionally “refreshed”. Though still heavily damaged and destroyed, these areas can be looted each year for materials -- copper wiring, plating, materials to repair other parts of the site, possible acquisition of rations and water.

Clothing from transmogrified personnel annually slain in the Archives and Revision and Applied Occultism can sometimes be recovered for use in repairing existing clothing, or as medical bandaging. 

Sections and faculties of the Site that go unused in the wake of the Paradox have been stripped; materials moved elsewhere for post-breach repairs and general maintenance of vital site functions.

Excursions outside of the Site are risky and dangerous -- though as successful containments of the breach have occurred, stability around Site-43 has begun to increase and grow safer. Nearby areas are occasionally scouted for any usable materials that remain, or were brought about by spatial/temporal distortions. 

The building of the REISNO Cannon was a nightmare to build in spite of its small size -- due to the amount of brute-forcing they had to do with its construction. When PHMD build the PXE alone, it took far more supplies to build.

Medical Care

To aid individuals wounded by SCP-001-A, able bodied personnel are encouraged to donate blood. 

These guys are working overtime due to the inherent dangers of the Paradox, doing the best they can to ration out their supplies and create what they can to help others.

Some members of personnel need to undergo treatment for sialorrhea, as the excessive production of saliva can put them at risk of both SCP-001-A and dehydration.

Medical personnel worked with the Memetics and Countermemetics Section to create Solution 001-A.

SCP-001-A

All reflective surfaces have either been destroyed, scuffed and scratched so that they are no longer reflective, or treated with Solution 001-A.

Application of Solution 001-A results in a clouding of the eyes and an impairment of vision. In light of added perceptions due to SCP-001, this is considered a blessing in disguise. 

Any personnel who had glasses has either had them destroyed, or took out the lenses from the frames.

Individuals wounded by -A are often given two options — needing to rigorously clean their wounds and be given bi-monthly blood transfusion to counteract the inability of the wound to heal and the risk of infection; or undergo amputation to completely rid themselves of the injury. For individuals whose injuries are not localized to their limbs, amputation cannot be done and the wounds simply must be taken care of. Seeing personnel with always bloody bandages, amputated limbs and prosthesis are not uncommon sights.

Bandages for -A wounds must be prior soaked in Solution 001-A, and wrapped tight, as to avoid the risk of the blood’s reflection. This is preferably done by medical staff, who have recordkeeping of all individuals wounded by -A.

SCP-001-B

Keepers of 001-B cannot communicate and over time grow conceptually vague, but the cycling of -B occurs while individuals are still recognizable. The Memetics and Countermemetics Section is in charge of the recordkeeping of Keepers.

Keepers can still interact with others and show their presence through physical touch and facial expressions. 

I don’t know if they are capable of writing, but it’d be cool if they devised a non-verbal and non-words series of drawn symbols and gestures for Keepers to utilize as a way to quasi-get around the anomaly. However “cannot communicate” could extend to “writing and sign language”

SCP-001-C

Lake Huron is to be avoided at all costs. Any individual attempting an excursion outside of Site-43 (typically for the gathering of biological materials from dead trees/foliage/etc) is not to approach due to the risk of the water rising again.

SCP-001-D

Respiration from the anomaly sometimes results in structural damage to the Site, or tremors, which requires repair.

The Survivors

The Site’s original population has been cleaved -- both by the initial breach’s heavy losses, and subsequent accidents. Only a little over 100 people remain come the 2030s, and Site-43 functions on a stretched-thin skeleton crew. 

Agent Radcliffe -- A bit torn up here and there from encounters with spectral and temporal entities, but is mostly okay. 

Agent Gwilhem -- Has a bad shoulder due a shrapnel injury. She has taken charge of the remaining members of MTFs Alpha-43, Beta-43 and Delta-43.

Technician Markey -- One of many individuals issuing repairs and maintenance to Site-43, he has sustained various small injuries to his hands due to his work. Lost a finger when it was crushed in a collapsing pipe. 

Dr. Wirth -- Has become pockmarked by various burn scars across his face and hands over the breaches. He received deep wounds across his stomach from SCP-001-A in 2027. Will never forgive himself. 

Chief Mukami -- Has taken major charge within the Site, primary maintainer of reports and processing of incidents. She has a few sparse injuries from an instance in which the bulkhead jammed during one of the loops, and she was injured by shrapnel. 

Technician Ambrogi -- Another individual who aids in site repairs, he would lose his leg in the aftermath of the initial breach due to structural damage caused by the detonation of the Keter and Euclid Wings, resulting in a small collapse of a hallway. Now utilizes a ramshackle leg prosthesis. 

Dr. Del Olmo -- Has sustained two injuries from SCP-001-A, a clawmark to the upper thigh, and one to the shoulder. Initially had turned down the offer of amputation due to their locations, but would have his leg amputated after severe infection years later. 

Dr. Deering -- Unscathed until the day he died. While everyone around him was hurt and bleeding and dying, he was always fine. It’s unclear if this is out of luck, or punishment. He thinks the latter. 

PHMD -- Injured by SCP-001-A shortly upon retrieval, receiving claw marks to the face and lower arm. Turned down amputation of the arm, claiming he needed both hands for his work. Wounds had become severely infected by the time he went missing due to neglect. 

Dr. Ngo --  Had a tendency to throw herself into danger to help others, was never wounded by SCP-001-A, but was a bit scuffed up due to other small scale accidents. Was practically the backbone of the Site for some people, as the only remaining psychologist, a lodestar of hope against this nightmare. Her death is still mourned. 

Dr. Reynders -- Mostly unscathed, aside from a few injuries -- notably one to her cheek from a temporal entity. Has gone missing.

Chronological reversions seem to have odd effects on those still alive. The running theory is that SCP-001 has severely slowed their aging to preserve their lives.

The See You In Hell PTF members are all friend-adjacent in my heart of hearts. Breach containment solidarity. Maybe a bit rough against the edges but we gotta tough it out together. All we’ve got is each other now, yknow?

jesus christ ok I think that's it I think that's all the thoughts in my brain if anyone actually reads this whole thing i heart you forever ok? i fffffucking love TL-5956-X 'n how fucked up it is I hope we get to see it again at sometime. regardless i will be thinking about it forever

[twilighttrekkie]

my good pal dougal flopguy

do the flop guy you will always be famous

cringe culture be darned, i will love asdfmovie till the day i die

[lilac-hecox]

Sorry for bringing negativity to this blog but you're the only one I feel safe to vent to. But I do not like Erin. I've hated her vibe from the very beginning. She isn't funny and most of her jokes are just about sex and I just don't like how she acts.

I definitely get just not gelling with someone's vibe. I'm often of two minds with Erin. I think she can be funny and she has good ideas. At other times her vibe is not my thing (a big example being just how much she talks about animal deaths on the Lunchtime Pod) which really bothers me, i.e. crushing lightning bugs, her hamster killing itself, etc. I'm over that as a topic.

I know Erin can also have some bad takes. She has a more out there sense of humor I think, which at times worries me in regards to how much creative influence she has with Ian and Anthony content and now Bit City as well, but I don't hate her.

We don't really know her besides her persona she puts out there and she is very sex positive and doesn't shy away from that topic so I get if you're not cool with that how it can irk you!

(I'd also lowkey just like a lunchtime pod without her just once)

[loki-is-my-kink-awakening]

Me coded characters

I don't know if this makes any sense.

Thanks for the tag @ladyofthestayingpower and @insert-witty-user-name-here

Tagging @ptork66 @ikeepwatchinghelicopters @limerental @kickassfu @goofgoofdildo @panur @the-better-rainbow-unikitty @rins-love-wins @bebx

[spyglassrealms]

Spy's Spec-Bio Essentials

I honestly didn't mean to write a full-on essay, but I couldn't help myself -I love specbio, and the recent revival of interest in it makes me very happy. If you wanna just get right to the meat: normal links are highlighted blue, YouTube links are highlighted red.

Speculative biology has its roots as far back as Pliny the Elder and his Natural History, though most consider H.G. Wells to be the true grandfather of the genre with works such as War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, and Man of the Year Million. However, any speculative biologist worth their salt credits Dougal Dixon as the father of specbio as we know it today –especially since he is the man who coined the term! Dixon's books After Man, Man After Man, and The New Dinosaurs are considered the foundational works of modern specbio. So too is Wayne Barlowe's book Expedition.

While the original printings of these books are very expensive to acquire, After Man recently received a Kindle version, and Expedition has a very good documentary adaptation available in totality on YouTube. Another important work of early speculative biology was the Discovery Channel limited series The Future Is Wild, a documentary show exploring the possible futures of life on Earth in several million years' time.

With the rise of the internet, people interested in speculative biology –those few and far between– could share their thoughts and amateur works with each other. Online specbio hit its first height around the mid-aughts to early tens, featuring many notable works that were very influential to me personally when I joined the scene circa 2014. Unfortunately, right around when I joined there was a notable "mass extinction" –many of the more active and prominent figures of the specbio community left the web behind for various reasons, and thus the golden age ended.

In recent years, partially thanks to certain YouTube video essays on the classic projects, interest in speculative biology seems to have increased dramatically! I've taken to calling the current era the "specbio renaissance," and it makes me so happy to see new, younger people interested in this unique facet of creativity. In light of this I've created this master post of my personal recommendations of essential specbio works for new "speccers" to enjoy!

The specbio community has congregated on forums for decades. I personally joined the community via DeviantArt right around when the old ZetaBoards forum underwent a massive host shift and never participated on the forum all that much, but fortunately the old Speculative Evolution Forum is still up and still active!

For those who'd prefer a simpler way to keep up with current events in the specbio community, Astrovitae is a free e-magazine dedicated to contemporary spec. A product of the recent specbio renaissance, Astrovitae only has a handful of issues thus far but is already becoming a staple publication in the field.

I made this post to provide what I think is key information and important resources, but the SpecBio Wiki is a far more thorough companion to your journey into the world of speculative biology. As always, though: beware ye old Wiki Rabbit Hole!

Biblaridion's Alien Biospheres video series is an excellent entry point for anyone looking to learn the basics of specbio. It's a demo xenobiology project, with a heavy focus on the scientific concepts used in building up the world and its ecology.

Curious Archive's Alien Worlds video series is an excellent collection of bite-size examinations of various specbio projects, including several on this list!

Nemo Ramjet (C. M. Kösemen)'s Life on Snaiad is universally considered a classic work of speculative biology, started in the early days of the golden age of internet specbio. Snaiad is an alien planet, in its early days of human habitation, filled with strange lifeforms bearing two "heads."

Kösemen's other well-known classic work is Alltomorrows, a short ebook exploring hundreds of millions of years' worth of possible human evolution. Readers, be advised: this work contains extensive body horror and discussion of human extinction, both circumstantial and deliberate.

Sagan IV, originally created by Hydromancerx, is one of the oldest and most extensive specbio projects. Started as a simple artistic exercise on a forum in 2006, Sagan IV has evolved into a large, highly collaborative vision of an alien world inspired by the works of Carl Sagan. It is still ongoing today, and you can participate in their regular contests and activities!

Gert van Dijk's Furaha is another of the well-known classic specbio projects, and one of the few from the golden age that is still fully active. Furaha itself is an alien world orbiting Nu Phoenicis which harbors a fascinating native biosphere, built upon carefully-researched biomechanics. The site itself is laid out much like an encyclopedia, and the accompanying blog is a treasure trove of specbio know-how and community history!

Sunrise on Ilion, a xenobiology project by @supermalmoworld, is a personal favorite of mine. Ilion is a planet tidally locked to a red dwarf star, and its endemic lifeforms often challenge our expectations for Earth-like ecology. The website boasts extremely detailed information on the setting and its inhabitants, as well as in-universe articles and logs of the various human expeditions to this fascinating world. The project is still active on a very sporadic basis, at least as per blog entries.

Nereus is a xenobiology project created by Evan Black; another reasonably well-known golden age work but one that is unfortunately no longer active. The world of Nereus, orbiting the star Achird, teems with life unfamiliar to the humans which seek to adopt it as their home. Like many specbio projects it adopts a documentarian style, but there are plenty of nuggets of story tucked in the articles.

Serina is a contemporary speculative evolution project created by the legendary Sheather; it is what I would consider the holotype of the "seed-world" branch of specbio. Serina is a planet populated only by the descendants of the domestic canary (and a few other organisms like guppies, snails, ants, sunflowers, bamboo, algae, etc). The project digs deeply into the various unique niches of the world and the organisms that evolve to fill them, and in doing so mixes nature-documentarian style with some of the most compelling and emotionally engaging storytelling I have read in years.

These are just what I think are the essentials. There are numerous other fantastic projects, both contemporary and from years ago, that I would highly suggest investigating! Contemporary honorable mentions that personally inspire me include @alexriesart's birrin, @iguanodont's birgs, @jayrockin's Runaway to the Stars, Christian Cline's Teeming Universe, Keenan Taylor's Kaimere, and my friend Mičkin's Temere!

[aquacure]

oc sketches and a new O'Malley Relative Just Invented!

[samheughanswife]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Graham (@grahammctavish)

Caitriona’s exxxy at home laser gadget doesn’t seem so unseemly right now.

If at first you don’t succeed, try again.

Back to the future from a few years ago when Graham first attempted to front an OL fan experience/experiment with a price tag of $10K.

Will he get fans to spend 10 days without an appearance from JAMMF?

Good luck Dougal Graham.

Edit. Like a museum with the gift shop at the exit there will be the Dore fireside product placement and Mrs McTavish will sell the benefits of her product. Bourbon and skincare 🟩 🥃

Edit #2. Comments have been limited on the post🤣 Did he seriously believe that he would not be questioned regarding price and of course the fact that he is no longer part of OL? I do admire his rhino skin though

[mybrainismelted]

Weekly Tag Wednesday!

thanks for the tags @spookygingerr, @stocious, @energievie, @spacerockwriting, @francesrose3, @vintagelacerosette , @suzy-queued , @takeyourpillsbitchh , @roryonic , @celestialmickey , and @sgtmickeyslaughter !

name: Kat 😼

do you drink coffee? if so, what’s your coffee order? coffee. That's my order. Once in awhile if I'm feeling like a treat, a latte.

what’s the best thing you ate today? Ummm... I dunno, I guess the banana was ok?

tell us about your first pet (or if you haven’t had a pet yet, what’s your dream pet?) I think the first was a black lab named Cinders, but my parents got rid of him and I don't actually remember him. First one I do remember was a Sheltie named Dougal

if your life was a book, what would you call the current chapter? Well, fuck.

what’s something you did recently that you’re proud of? 🤷‍♀️ 

what was your first dream job growing up? is it anything like the job you have now? hmmm, I remember wanting to be a chef or a veterinarian. Neither are anything like what I do now.

what’s the name of the latest playlist you made? I don't really do playlists, sorry kids

tags under the cut

tagging @blue-disco-lights @gallapiech @deedala @deathclassic @crossmydna @creepkinginc @gardenerian @suchagallabitch @sam-loves-seb @samantitheos @ms-moonlight-inn @wehangout @thepupperino @lingy910y @darlingian @mickittotheman @heymrspatel @mmmichyyy @too-schoolforcool @palepinkgoat @burninface @sleepyheadgallavich @transsexual-dandelions @i-think-you-mean-reduction @runawaybrainsc

[pierog]

he is not even 6 months and he is sooooo bigboy

[wishywashysmoshy]

IT'S SPOMMY WEEK! LET"S GOOO!!!

Spencer has a crush on Tommy and he's afraid of what that'll do for their friendship

First prompt of the week: "First Friends"

I had a little trouble trying to write a story for this one and I wasn’t too sure if this fit with the prompt, but I still wanted to participate

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rating: Teen and up audience

No Archive Warnings Apply

Characters: Spencer Agnew; Tommy Bowe; the Smosh Ensemble: Courtney Miller (Mentioned), Anthony Padilla (Mentioned), Kiana Parker, Erin Dougal (Mentioned)

Additional Tags: She/Her and They/Them Pronouns for Courtney Miller; Swearing; Nervousness; Drinking; Drunkenness; Drunken Confessions; Mutual Pining; Mentions of vomiting; Love Confession; First Kiss; Not Beta Read

[dino--draws]

Me and my paraline headcanons swag. Have Sokolsky

and uh. this LMAO.

Dougall. Read the room

[mia1989]

Outlander: Unfinished Business Review

I honest to God don't even remember the last time I was on this site, but given that there's new episodes of Outlander, and I have thoughts, I thought I'd start doing reviews again. And be forewarned, I am a book reader, so this may contain upcoming spoilers (I will tag it as such).

Pros:

I may be in the minority, but I actually really like the new Jenny. I absolutely adored Laura's version, but I actually appreciate that Kristin Atherton is sticking closer to book Jenny than Laura Donnelly did. Jenny still has a certain toughness about her, but I feel like Kristin is giving her a softer edge as well, which makes sense because as people age, many do become softer.

Jamie and Claire being back at Lallybroch felt just like coming home from an audience perspective. The scene in the Laird's room where they were reminiscing were so heartwarming.

Seeing all of Jenny and Ian's brood was a welcome surprise, I wasn't expecting to see so many Murray's.

All of the scenes with older Ian absolutely broke my heart, but I really loved them. He is going to be so missed, which is a testament to how well Steven Cree plays him because he is one of my favourite characters.

Laoghaire's "happy" ending. She has never been a favourite character of mine, but she's been put through a lot of shit over the years, so I am glad to see she was able to find someone to love,

Although I knew it was coming, seeing Brian Fraser again made me so happy. I liked his interactions with Roger, just wish Brianna could have been there as well.

The ending with Geilis was an amazing cliffhanger. I cannot wait to see her, Buck, Roger and Dougal next week. This storyline is unhinged in a hilarious way.

Cons:

Roger's voiceover. I don't usually mind voiceovers, but this one just felt out of place to me.

I wish we could have had more scenes with Jenny and Claire this go around. I just really love their relationship and how complicated it is. I'm really hoping the show will follow the book and bring Jenny to Fraser's Ridge eventually.

Jamie and Claire's lack of goodbye. I just felt like they didn't really get a proper goodbye this goaround, especially given what is coming and the separation once again.

All in all I'd give this episode an 8.5/10. It was well done and had a lot of nods to the book, which I really appreciate. I have high hopes for the rest of this season and can't wait to see what's to come, even knowing that it will break me.

[i-miss-summertime]

But if it's forever, it's even better (5567 words) by midnightflighttosanfransico Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Smosh, Video Blogging RPF Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ian Hecox/Anthony Padilla Characters: Ian Hecox, Anthony Padilla, Erin Dougal, Nicole Nourmal, Mallory Myers Additional Tags: Single Parents, Getting Together, First Dates, Domestic Fluff, Family Shenanigans, Father-Daughter Relationship, two loser single dads are tired but ready for love, Rated T for swearing Summary:

Ian's daughter, Erin is being a good trooper in their move up to Sacramento but changing schools in the middle of Spring semester in 6th grade is less than ideal. When Erin announces she's made a new friend, Mallory, in class and she was coming to visit the next weekend, Ian also meets someone who ends up sparking feelings he hasn't felt in a long time.

-

Ian's a single dad to Erin and Anthony's a single dad to Mallory and Nicole. This is also just an excuse to draw fun parallels to the way Ian and Anthony met with having their girls meet in a similar way. Perspectives change halfway from Ian to Anthony.

[nellie-elizabeth]

Outlander: Brotherly Love (7x10)

Lord John! He's here! My bestest friend!

Cons:

When I was looking back over my reviews of the earlier half of this season, I saw how much flip-flopping I did about Rachel and Ian's relationship. In this episode, I did rather like the romance moment they had together. But I do need to reiterate my dissatisfaction with the Arch Bug plot thread. In the books it honestly feels kind of random and extraneous too, but in the show especially so - the fact that Rachel is held at knife-point and William shoots and kills a man in this episode feels so... random and unmotivated and out of scope for everything else the story is trying to do? Especially since, for the viewer of the show, the stuff with Ian killing Arch Bug's wife happened ten million years ago.

Not to be all "in the books" again, but... in the books, Claire takes on the role of rebel spy through her own initiative and successfully passes messages around many times before finally being suspected. It felt a little silly that she's discovered instantly her very first time out, when ostensibly there would have been no reason for everyone to abruptly suspect her at that point. Another book change is not having Fergus and his family around at this stage in the story. I've re-read John telling Claire about the Euturpe so many times that I remember vividly she's got some of her grandchildren underfoot at the time, and John's appeal to Claire is about saving Fergus and Marsali and the kids specifically, along with their other rebel friends. I don't mind the changes on principle, but I am sad because I always want to see Fergus.

There was less of it this week, but I just want to reiterate that the Roger inner monologue thing is still just really awkward and doesn't work! It's particularly infuriating when his internal voice is just saying something like "oh, Christ" or something. Let the actor's face tell us that he's shocked, we don't need a verbal cue!

Pros:

The whole opening sequence dealing with Ian Sr.'s end of life was just the perfect amount of cheesy and overwrought to make me a little misty-eyed. We get the flashback of young Ian and Jamie learning to fight, we get Ian saying "on your left" to Jamie as he lays dying... we get the image of Jamie digging a grave for his brother-in-law, him and Jenny sitting together and knowing that Ian will always be with them. He's this loyal, stalwart, permanent aspect of these two siblings' lives, it's so sad to know he's gone!

Like I said above, I actually didn't mind Ian and Rachel this week. Even more surprising, I didn't mind William and Rachel either. This is the rare type of love triangle story that I think works really well, because it's not actually so much that it's a mystery of who Rachel will end up with. It's pretty clear Ian is the winner. But William's feelings for her are very sweet and very genuine, and I feel invested in the outcome in terms of William not being too heartbroken. Also, Ian and William teaming up to protect Rachel is fun stuff. The scene with Ian and Rachel where they talk about their religious convictions being different was really lovely. Rachel basically says that it's okay that Ian isn't a pacifist Quaker like she is - he can go off and hunt at night, as long as he comes home to her. Awww! And the Rollo reunion was lovely as well!

I miss Brianna and hope we get to 20th century story stuff next week, but even still, I do enjoy the stuff with Roger and Buck and Geillis this week. Dougal turning up is a real treat, I love how in a show with time travel, your character's on-screen death doesn't mean you can't come back for later story moments in all sorts of ways. And Roger's heartbreaking delight when he sees his father's military ID tags! All of the truths that come unraveling for him in that moment... oof. I think Roger gets some of the least interesting material in this show sometimes, but I think the actor is really good and the performance is quite strong, so it's fun to see him get some juicy material out of it.

And then saving Claire's main story-line for last: I love seeing her excelling in her core competency of medicine, but also just how much her presence is a reassurance to the people around her. The conversation with Mercy Woodcock about the death of her husband, the moment with Ian and Claire celebrating Jamie's letter, the warm greeting between Claire and John, the mentoring moment with Denzel... she's just such a good person who gives so much to the people around her, and I felt like this episode really made a case for her as a remarkable person worthy of knowing. We see that Henry's life is able to be saved because of Claire, and I'm always delighted for more time with all the characters connected to the Grey family, so I'm happy for that! And I hope we get to see William and Claire interact next week, because that will be a treat.

Of course Lord John is my favorite forever and always so I loved seeing him in his dashing uniform, warmly greeting Claire, grateful for her arrival. The fact that he got her the supplies to make ether without being asked, because he was so sure she'd come to the rescue... this man is down so bad for both halves of this married couple, albeit in very different ways. I love it.

And oh my god, The Scene where John has to break the news to Claire that Jamie is dead... I was so looking forward to this moment and I'm pleased to say that it didn't disappoint! The way he's sitting down covering his face with his hands when she comes into the room, the stammering, the way his face crumples and tears come to his eyes... ouch! And Claire, her dissociative denial and then her anger and terror. Just... the utter intimacy of this, of these two people with such a complicated relationship to one another and to Jamie, it feels so cruel and so important that it be John who tells her. And I loved the way she lashes out at him, hitting at him as she tries to deny the truth of what she's hearing, and he just stands there and takes it. He's on the verge of collapse himself, and he's holding himself together as much as he can to be stalwart in telling her what's happened. Oof! And then the bit where Claire's just lying there in a stupor and he's knocking at her door to check on her... John Grey is the love of my life, I'm telling you. Also it's super sexy how he plays it cool with Richardson and then the moment he can, he runs up the stairs and bursts into Claire's room uninvited and proposes marriage. Like. Bro does not hesitate, he knows what he's about. I love it so much. I'm vibrating with anticipation for next week's episode!

9/10