An idea: Bree tells John about what happened to her and he opens up and shows his vulnerability with her by saying that he understands all too well what thatâs like and they talk for hours and help each other and hold hands the entire time and smile shyly at each other as their brotp flowers out of control AND THEN SHE RUNS OFF TO LONDON WITH HIM AND THEY OPEN UP THEIR OWN DETECTIVE AGENCY AND GO AROUND SOLVING CRIMES TOGETHER AND BEING BEST FRIENDS AND JEMMY GROWS UP LOVED TO PIECES BY HIS MOTHER AND HIS UNCLE JOHNNY THE END.
So EXCITED to see LJG again! When he is seen sitting at a fire in front of tents in the trailer for half a second, and then in that picture together with Jamie â when & where do you think that is?
You and me both! I made a very undignified screeching noise when I saw him there, and the promo photo is now my phone background. As to where/when he might show up? Iâm going to be very honest, Iâm terrible at speculating, and because John wasnât in this part of the books at all, I didnât actually pay much attention to it when I read it. I have priorities, man. But I am INFINITELY grateful to the powers that be for changing things up and giving us this gift of Lord John (and David Berryâs lovely face).Based on his expression, it seems to me like heâs trying to caution Jamie against getting too involved in the growing conflict, or pushing him to turn in Murtaugh- and failing at it. Maybe he appears at the Gathering, if they show any of that? Either as part of the regiment that shows up there, or coming on his own knowing Jamie will be there? OrâŠI donât know if the show will make it all the way to the Battle of Alamance, but I suppose John could be there in a military capacity/as an ally of Tryon.Given the presence of tents, it seems unlikely John will appear on the Ridge again, but I would sell my firstborn to see John and Adso together.
Hey! Iâve just started reading the Lord John series (Iâve read voyager, but Iâm now half way through brotherhood of the blade and absolutely ADORING LJG and Percy). I was wondering whether thereâs any good LJG fics/fan blogs you know about?? I canât seem to find any! And also, Iâm such a sucker for queer historical fiction - do you have any recommendations?? I really like the LJG series because itâs not gratuitous romance, so any similar ideas would be amazing! Thanks!
hello hello hello!Â
Iâm sorry from taking almost a month to answer this, Iâve been Doing Life Stuff/thereâs been no show news.Â
For fics, Iâm stuck in the middle of mine, which you can find on this page. (itâs contemporary!)
AO3 has some stuff, look in both Outlander and the Lord John Grey specific series.Â
Also the Lallybroch Library does have some John stuff!Â
Checkout the hashtag #queerlander for specifically queer Outlander stuff.Â
In larger world Queer historical fiction, Iâm not super well versed so Iâll add that as a hashtag because Iâd love to know as well. I will say I love me some KJ Charles if you want specifically queer romance (but you donât!)Â
reblog to add your Lord John fics and queer historical (not necessarily romance) reccs!Â
Hey all, remember when I said Iâd never do another picture-fic because I donât have photoshop and itâs straight up the devilâs work? Yeah, I lied.Â
someone give me validation this took foreverÂ
Discredit - Excerpts from A.Z. Fell and Co.âs Yelp PageÂ
You, a fool: George R.R. Martin writes nothing but sadness and created A Song of Ice and Fire just to break peopleâs hearts and destroy their souls with crushing scenes of character death and horrible things happening to those who survived.
Me, an intellectual: George R.R. Martin named three successive generations of House Tully after Muppets.
Can anyone recommend a drama free Outlander blog that actually enjoys the show and doesnât follow the crazy shipper bullshit? Asking for Anon, but also for me because that sounds freaking delightful!
Thanks for putting me on the list! Fair warning I do occasionally get mad at the drama in other parts of the fandom on this blog. Such as the recent shipper stalking issue that had me threatening to block people who found that ok. I do stay out of 99% of the time and focus on the show/books.
Also here are some other recs from me @lordjohntheshow and @thegreymajor
Todayâs installment of âSometimes I have dreams featuring Lord Johnâ.
Apparently my deep subconscious ships John with Benjamin Tallmadge (actual historical figure, dream version as seen in AMCâs Turn: Washingtonâs Spies).
I mean Iâm not complaining, but this is a pairing I have literally never even considered in my waking hours? But in my dream LJ was accused of a crime of some kind and Ben was going out of his way using logic and 18th century forensics to try and prove his innocence because he had a mad crush.
Thankfully there were no pink track suits involved this time around.
Iâve been given the all-clear to post again, this time with more detail, and a follow-up request for advice.
I mentioned in my previous post that @claryclark was having a significant family crisis. To elaborate: her brother, his wife, and their four small children (the oldest being 8, the youngest 2), were in a horrific car accident. The children, in the back seat, were all fine. For over a week the adults were in critical condition in the ICU. The sister-in-law passed away over the weekend. Claryâs brother died Tuesday.Â
This would be hard enough. But then there are the children left behind. There was no will, and no one in the family is currently equipped to take on 4 very young children. The oldest, an 8 year old boy (the younger three are going to live with Claryâs oldest brother), was asked by a judge where he would like to live, and with whom.
He said his Aunt Clary.
And just like that, she inherited a child, and a house, and her whole world flipped upside down. At 24 years old, freshly graduated, just starting her adult life and new job, she is now the guardian â in effect, the mother â of a little boy. Sheâs terrified, and brave, and strong, and wonderful, and doing beautifully with him, and acting with more grace and love than anyone could have ever expected or imagined. She is literally my hero.
But sheâs never been a parent â for that matter, sheâs never had a mom (she was raised by a single dad). So to be asked to step in, right now, right here, to be the parent of an 8 year old, in the wake of unspeakable tragedy⊠she has so many questions. And she asked me to turn to this community, which is FULL of moms, for advice.
Parenting 101: A Crash Course. Give her everything youâve got, please.
A link to a google doc where everyone can contribute their best parenting advice, tips and tricks, life hacks, etc, is HERE. Â
Jamie read the letter through twice, his lips tightening at the same place, halfway down the first pageâand then again, at the end. It wasnât actually unusual for him to react to one of Johnâs letters that way, but when he did, it was normally because it held unwelcome news of the war, of William, or of some incipient action on the part of the British government that might be about to result in Jamieâs imminent arrest or some other domestic inconvenience.
This, however, was the first letter John had sent in nearly two yearsâsince before Jamieâs return from the dead to find me married to Lord John Grey, and before he had punched John in the eye as a result of this news and inadvertently caused his lordship to be arrested and nearly hanged by the American militia. Well, turnabout was fair play, I supposedâŠ
No point in putting it off.
âWhat does John have to say?â I asked, keeping my voice pleasantly neutral.
- Copyright 2019 Diana GabaldonÂ
Let the speculation begin! What might be in Johnâs letter to get this reaction from Jamie?
âHey, just wondering, have you seen our mutual idiot son? He ran off after that thing in Savannah and Iâd kinda like to know that heâs, you know, alive, and maybe where he is; you know he never writes. Anyway, how are you?â
-  Iâve specified good fanfiction in literally the first tweet. While this is, obviously, a value judgement wherein YMMV, My Immortal is famous for being arguably the most terrible fanfic ever written, and is therefore demonstrably not what Iâm talking about. Similarly, Iâve seen other responses to this post bring up 50 Shades, which, despite its popularity in mainstream circles, is pretty much universally regarded as being not just terrible fanfic, but an excruciatingly bad and dangerously inaccurate portrayal of BDSM that romanticises abuse. So no: these are not the droids youâre looking for.
- Hereâs the thing, though: you already knew that. The decision to respond to this post with a flippant reference to a fic thatâs notorious precisely because of its poor quality is exactly why I used up precious Twitter characters to specify good fanfic, even though I shouldnât have had to. Every mode of artistic expression is composed of good, bad and mediocre works, but when it comes to genres that are traditionally viewed as less worthy or literary - like fanfiction, or romance - we have a reflexive tendency to conflate the bad with the whole, such that the good is implied to be either exceptional or nonexistant. I specified that Iâm talking about good fanfiction, not because I think such fics are an exalted minority, but to pre-emptively combat the assertion that they are, and then youâve gone and made it anyway. So, thanks for that.
- But while weâre on the subject of quality, letâs make a very important distinction. Though fanfic is a largely unmediated medium, itâs not bad; itâs amateur, in the very literal, dictionary-definition sense of engaging or engaged in without payment; non-professional. While thereâs a stereotype that lots of ficwriters are teenage girls - which, why is that always wielded as an insult? oh right, misogyny, carry on - a lot of us are, in fact, grown-ass adults of varying genders, some of whom also happen to write professionally in other contexts; like me, for instance. Iâve read fanfics that are unquestionably as good as, if not better than, many professionally published works Iâve read, some Iâve simply enjoyed or felt meh about, and others where Iâve mounted up on my Nopetopus and ridden off into the sunset after the first paragraph. Itâs a grab bag, is what Iâm saying, but if you think thatâs an inherently different spectrum of enjoyment over quality than applies to any other medium, then Iâd politely invite you to reconsider the matter.Â
- In conclusion: fanfic might not be your bag, but it has its own culture of editing, collaboration, publication, criticism and dissemination, its own conventions and subversions of same, its own extensive history and trope awareness, and, yes, its near-unique status as a medium invested in female sexual desire. That doesnât mean there arenât other things straight dudes can do to learn the mystical ways of What Women Want like, oh, say, talking to them, always bearing in mind that women are not a goddamn hivemind, but given that there are a frightening number of guys out there whose first or primary exposure to any type of porn is whatever degrading mainstream het they can scrouge up for free without virusing the hell out of their PCs, then yeah: Iâm gonna go out on a fucking limb and suggest they maybe balance it out with some fanfic.
Hi gotham I hoped you can help me.. I am lost in Jamie's timeline.. I only read the main books.. Jamie was a mercenary after his father's death right? And Ian came to help him? And Jamie was here when Ian was hurt and I can understand he stays in France bc of the price on his head but why he never wrote to be sure that his bff was alright? If so he would have know about their wedding.. and after why he came back to Scotland to stayed with no clans man? All of this in almost three years no? Thx
Hi anon! Let me try to untangle this a bit for you.
First, Ian Murray leaves for France while Jamie is still at Lallybroch. When Brian is still alive. Before Jamie ever meets Jack Randall, and is flogged at Fort William.
Jamie is sent to France after Fort William because itâs the safest place for him to be - with a price on his head, and his father dead. And whatâs left of his family - at this point, primarily Murtagh and Dougal - know itâs best that he disappear for a while.
According to the Virgins novella, Jamie arrives in France in October 1740; he is 19; the wounds on his back still bleed. Immediately he meets up with Ian. They are in France together until Ian is wounded and loses his leg; after that, Ian returns to Scotland, but Jamie remains in France. Jamie is gravely wounded during a battle (later we learn that it was just one of the times that Dougal MacKenzie tried to kill him), and convalesces at the abbey of St. Anne de Beaupre, where his paternal uncle Alexander is the abbot.
Jamie is freshly returned to Scotland, on his way back from France and on his way to safety at Leoch, when he meets Claire on May 1, 1743.
So this means that in total, Jamie is in France for about 2.5 years. Assuming that Ian lost his leg quite early during that timeframe - Ian has been back at Lallybroch for probably 2 years? Long enough to marry Jenny, anyway, and have 2 kids by the time Jamie and Claire show up in the autumn of 1743.
If this timeline doesnât sound 100% plausible, anon, itâs because itâs not. Diana Gabaldon has a way of doing that; case in point is how Virgins clearly starts in October 1740, but the official Outlander timeline has Jamie going to France in ~April 1741âŠ
Oh god. The dreaded Virgins / Outlander timeline screw up.
Iâve been trying to untangle this knotty timelineâparticularly in relation to nailing down the start of Ian/Jennyâs marriageâ and itâs impossible. I have to conclude that it doesnât make any sense. Iâm at work which means I donât have easy access to my Jenny/Ian notes to provide you all with proof, so youâll just have to take my word for it.
I have many questions, including; When the frick did Ian return from France?! And how was there enough time between Ian getting home to Lallybroch after having his leg blown off, healing enough so he could walk on a peg (according to Jenny, MOBY, ch 141: âI said I wouldna marry him, aye? Unless he could stand up beside me at the altar on two legs and walk me up the aisle after the vows.â), them getting married (in a November, I think? Must be 1740?), for Young Jamie born in August 1741?! Okay count back nine months from thatâŠ. Thatâs a whole lot of shit to happen in less than a year, and Iâm suspect that a man in the 18th C convalescing in rural Scotland from a near-fatal fever and missing leg is able to walk in just a few weeks. Idk, but I kind of think he might be bed bound for a while. Jennyâs a knowledgeable enough healer to bring him back from the brink of death but in no way did that man receive the proper medical care needed to recoup so quickly⊠UGH.
I have so many feelings about Ian Murrayâs botched timeline. So! Many! Feelings!
Thereâs an Outlander/Virgins screw up in Jamieâs timeline too. In Outlander, Jamie tells Claire he returned to Scotland and was living rough with a group of broken men for a time when he was attacked and his skull bashed in. He tells Claire Dougal arranged for him to be sent to the Abbey where he then recovers from the head injury. In Virgins, he is injured in France in battle, I guess? (I donât remember and frankly I go by whatever the main series says when thereâs canon conflicts.)
John Grey and his boyfriend Stephan Namzten have a great life (and now three dogs) and are considering taking the next big step: marriage and children. Complications arise. This is a Modern AU set in 2019.
Click here for the earlier parts!Â
Thanks for being patient, patient people. I had a lot of Life happening. And now Iâm back and hopefully back to updating semi-regularly!Â
âDid you see Godzilla eating the Shard today? Couldnât even finish.â Stephan said.
âWhat?â John said, coming out of his head, midway through unbuttoning his shirt.
âBusy day at the office?â Stephan asked with a smile, which John returned, if a bit slowly, looking sheepish. âIs that a yes?â Stephan prompted, leaning back on the bed to watch his boyfriend undress. John carefully set the shirt into the dirty clothes hamper, his undershirt following. Stephan was still in his sweaty rugby kit, heâd barely beaten John home.
âWell⊠I saw Percy on a bus. Just his face. You know. An advertisement for a new show of his.â John said.
John Grey and his boyfriend Stephan Namzten have a great life (and now three dogs) and are considering taking the next big step: marriage and children. Complications arise. This is a Modern AU set in 2019.
Click here for the earlier parts!Â
Thanks for being patient, patient people. I had a lot of Life happening. And now Iâm back and hopefully back to updating semi-regularly!Â
âDid you see Godzilla eating the Shard today? Couldnât even finish.â Stephan said.
âWhat?â John said, coming out of his head, midway through unbuttoning his shirt.
âBusy day at the office?â Stephan asked with a smile, which John returned, if a bit slowly, looking sheepish. âIs that a yes?â Stephan prompted, leaning back on the bed to watch his boyfriend undress. John carefully set the shirt into the dirty clothes hamper, his undershirt following. Stephan was still in his sweaty rugby kit, heâd barely beaten John home.
âWell⊠I saw Percy on a bus. Just his face. You know. An advertisement for a new show of his.â John said.
âOh?â Stephan said, surprised, thinking John had wanted to vent about some terrible new human rights violation heâd uncovered. âThe Raven one? I have it set to record.â
âWhat?!â John said with such asperity that Jeff looked up from his bed, looking nervous. âApologies, Jeffrey,â John said sincerely, in that courteous way he had with nearly everyone. âBut why, Stephan?â
Stephan shrugged stretching out his frame on the bed, smiling at John. âYou were going to want to watch it, werenât you?â He said, practically, watching John follow his own movements. He kicked a shoe off. âLooks terrible, though.â He kicked his other shoe off, knowing he now had his boyfriendâs full attention.
âIt does.â John allowed, before remembering himself and sliding his belt off. He let it drop to the ground and then went to undo his fly.
âJohn.â Stephan said. âYouâre forgetting yourself.â He raised his brows. When theyâd first moved in together heâd learned the military hadnât ironed out Johnâs natural tendency to clutter and slovenliness- and even though they had a maid that came every so often, Stephan still made sure John picked up his clothes, his towels, and that he closed the fucking cabinets. John huffed and hung the belt on the back of the closet door, and carefully hung up his trousers.
Stephan grinned. âWhere are the Thor boxers I got for you?â He asked, seeing John was (again) in his white plain boxers.
âOh.â John said, looking down at himself. âTheyâre a bit extravagant for a Tuesday, arenât they?â He asked, coming over to stand between Stephanâs legs.
Stephan shut his legs together, even though it made his knees clang. His smile was positively wolfish. âWhoâs going to notice your pants except me, John?â John began to color, the red spreading upward from the base of his neck, and began to pull the offending piece of clothing off. Stephan grinned and stopped him, pulling his hand away.
âStephan.â
âJohn.â He replied, sitting up and pushing off the bed to go walk into the bathroom. âI think we should still that conversation about Percy?â He called. âAfter I shower.â
âYouâre a sadist and..â John replied, before the rush of the water and the clacking of the boiler drowned him out.
By the time he finished, John was in bed, pretending to read one the romcom books he constantly borrowed from his mother and sister-in-law. Stephan exaggerated his hanging of the towel, threw his kit into the hamper and walked around the bed to slide in next to John.
John set the book on his bedside table. âIt surprised me. You know how I feel about those. You also know that I try to avoid him.â He started. Stephan nodded, that was true, John had studiously avoided any interaction with Percy since walking out of that flat nearly a decade ago. But John barged on. âAnd then today, after lunch, I googled him.â
That surprised Stephan. âWhat did you find?â
âHeâs married.â John said tightly. âTo a French baron. Not that means anything today. They live together in Los Angeles.â
âI know. I have Instagram.â Stephan replied, fluffing his pillows. âAnd?â
âHe outed me.â John said. âAnd he just sort of swanned through it. He didnât ask me. And then he just goes and has a charmed life, that memoir made him a darling, he got married, he has some silly new job, where, no matter how absolutely positively mortifying and bonkers that trailer looksâŠâ
Stephen was quiet for a moment. âYou were expecting a lightening bolt to strike from the sky?â He asked. John had been out to his family and friends, but he was an intensely private person by inclination and necessity. His family hadnât known about his relationship with Percy. The weeks after the story had hit⊠had been bad. Stephen had finally taken away Johnâs phone, kept texting ânot nowâ at Hal until he stopped, and took John and the dogs to Germany to visit his family.
John huffed and leaned back into the pillows. âYes. No. Yes? If no deity is going to give me divine retribution, I suppose what I want is an apology.â
Stephan rubbed his arm gently. âSo, ask.â Â
âWhat, like some kind of mum whoâs upset someoneâs thrown mud at Billy?â John asked.
âWell, yes. Exactly.â Stephan replied.
âI donât even know how to reach him.â John protested.
Stephan snorted. âThat doesnât sound like my boyfriend the award-winning investigative journalist. And even if you werenât, Minerva has his personal number. The L.A. one and the one he uses when heâs in London.â
âIâd have to ask Minerva.â John said.
Stephen turned and picked up his phone from his nightstand and handed it to John. âWant to text her as me?â
He crossed his arms. âOh, Stephan please, you donât need to baby me.â
Stephan grinned and took the phone back, turning back to his boyfriend and planting a slow kiss on Johnâs lips. He felt John rise to meet him, relaxing his crossed arms and wrapping them around Stephan, opening his mouth to let Stephan in. Stephan continued to kiss him softly, and ran his hand down Johnâs chest, feeling the soft down and the jolt of his scar tissue. He brushed his hand over his nipple, feeling it harden and then pinched it lightly. John grunted, one of his hands skimming down Stephanâs back to clench his buttock. Stephen leaned back, pulling John into his lap, not wanting to give up his advantage.Â
A rustle of cloth against his thighs distracted him, and he barked a laugh when he looked down. âOh, youâre wearing them!â He said, running his hand down the front of Johnâs Thor boxers. âWhat do you think, John, am I worthy?âÂ
A/N: This is it. The final chapter. I am overwhelmed by the response to this story. I have gotten so many wonderful messages from readers along the way and itâs been truly delightful to share it with you. Thank you to everyone who has read it, liked it, reblogged it, left kudos and comments on AO3, and DMâd me.
Huge thanks for @theministerskat for beta-ing the story and always being honest and challenging as needed. I asked you to beta because I have so much faith in your understanding of canon characters, so I knew youâd keep me in line as I attempted to write something that felt true to the story and characters we already know.Â
This is my 6th completed multi-chapter story since I started writing in the fall of 2017. I am so grateful to have this creative outlet and to have found support and friendships because of it.
All right, enough jabbering. Enjoy!
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, 2021
Elizabeth watched in the hall for her parents, her hands nervously twisting the strings of her hoodie. A shadow preceded a figure walking towards her from the main entry, her father appearing seconds later.
âHey, darling.â He pulled her into a quick embrace, and she felt his chest expand as he took a steadying breath.
âWhereâs mom?â Elizabeth asked, still looking down the hall behind her father.
âSheâs waiting outside. Sheâs a bit nervous about this and wanted me to take a look to see what youâve got.â
His voice was calm and reassuring, but she could see his own nerves manifest in the way he chewed his lip and cleared his throat, his body rebelling against an unnatural rift in the flow of his life. He walked into the room and zeroed in on Luke, whom heâd yet to meet. They exchanged firm handshakes and awkward greetings before Luke launched into an introduction to what heâd found.
Johnâs head bobbed in acknowledgement of Lukeâs words, but Elizabeth could see he was only hearing bits and pieces, desperate to see what the letters said. Luke finished and gestured for John to take a seat. Her father shook his head, but leaned over the table, palms pressed against the edge as his eyes began scanning the words. He only read a small amount before skipping to the next letter, his breath coming quicker. Looking up, he turned to his daughter. âGo get your mother.â
