#maybe with the exception of coe

[sandymybeloved]

i don't like torchwood, however, everyone in awe of martha jones in reset, amazing, perfect television, she's so great she makes me like this show for the duration she's on screen

[silurisanguine]

Sam Coe Valentine's day gift

(since tumblr's community guidelines are vague as fuck, my other piece that goes with this is considered adult content and hidden from view, even though it fits the guidelines, so this piece i hope isnt and is allowed as NOTHING IS ON SHOW) anyway.....

"Roses are red, violets are blue, i may be so coy, but not when it comes to you...darlin."

Sometimes Sam just wants to give his S.O. something to remind them of him, when they are off surveying without him.

The other half of this art two parter can be found from 15th feb, on my twitter, under same name as well as blusky, inkblot, and pillowfort. This piece is part of the Valentine's day art trade i took part in on the Coemancer discord. This was for @eridanidreams and heavily inspired by their amazing fic. Except instead of a drug hazed young Sam, this is the cowboy giving Cait a better image to stay in her head. Go check out the other posts in the art trade too! and maybe if you love Sam as much as i do, join up!

[unsc-offical]

I've decided i will allow myself one starfield post so I do not burst so here are my thoughts

Let me give my crew a hug or just some kind words or a greeting, and allow me to say goodbye or an "welp, guess I gotta go" instead of just leaving, they always sounds so disappointed when we stop talking. I know I am.

LET ME GIVE CORA COE BOOKS I STG I WILL FIND YOU TODD HOWARD

I need more stuff to put on the back of my ship, it's just some engines and squares and some stuff that looks like engines (I run a uscss nostromo replica, from alien (the franchise))

Give me the exact parts to make the Pelican from halo. It's not a want but a need, Todd,

Guys if you're playing starfield and in the epsilon eridani system, check the caves on reach, for noble six. Idc if he's not there I will never stop looking

Let. Me. Give. Cora. Coe. Books. Todd.

I want more space in the ship builder. Definitely not to re create Garfield as a space ship, I want it for normal reasons like...uh... recreating the battlestar galactica. Yeah... definitely

Let me arrest people in freestar space instead of blowing up their ship or boarding and killing them. My character is a mute mass murder with a friendly face, smile who is always the kindest they can be. Who's a great person who has resolved so many conflicts peacefully, and saved lives, but I've also killed over 300 people because they're labeled as "bad guy pirates" who are NOT people with lives and families to support. Anyway moving on

WHY IS IT SO MANY SKILL POINTS TO GET MORE CREW I JUST WANT ALL MY SCRUNGLIES ON MY SHIP AT ONCE (except heller and lin, I'm making my first and only outpost just for them lol it's gonna be on starfields planet reach (epsilon eridani II I believe, maybe it's III or I, but it's definitely epsilon eridani because that's where reach is in halo lore).

I've collected so many books let me give them to Cora, Todd Howard from Bethesda,

Honestly I don't mind the not being able to travel freely but there is just TOO MANY MENUS to finally travel somewhere. Especially when I haven't been there before and have to do it

I also don't mind the state of planet exploration BUT I am not saying you shouldn't complain. This isn't an indie company with 1 guy 5 dollars and a pizza (that's the state of the UNSC pr office lmao @oni-official) it's a part of the biggest company in gaming and should not be free from criticism, but also don't go after the devs ovbiously

I'll reblog this with more thoughts when I have them. If you haven't noticed I'm bad at sticking to what I say and should stop saying things.

[askgroupm]

note: this does not take place until FAR after the main plot, you can ask him but adress them as future Coe/puce

It was another snowy day, clouds of empathy was feeding scruffy when suddenly a slugcat fell through the pipe and lands on the ground “Ah, hello little slugcat! Do you come to visit? Perhaps you need rest, there are plenty of shelters in my substructure, feel free to stay a while!” Coe explains.

Without so much as a word the slugcats eyes start flashing every color imaginable and a karma ten symbol appears behind him, before…*PING*!

Coe darted to look at the slugcat but what he sees…is scruffy…laying on the ground…lifeless…Coe is distraught, he knows he won’t come back this time…he glares at the slugcat”WHAT DID YOU DO TO SCRUFFY?!”

The Slugcat takes aim of the karma ten symbol at Coe, But he takes action and kills the slugcat, he’d be back tommorow so he goes on lockdown shutting down almost all function except for his communication arrays.

He sends out the following message:

“Triple affirmative! Hello, you know who I am but what’s more important is what you don’t know, scruffy has been ascended, the triple affirmative has found its way to our local group, I suggest everyone locks down until that…THING, leaves.”

And so for about. 300 cycles nothing happened, Coe never got over the loss of scruffy…sometimes still throwing his toys around pretending he would come back with them, once it finally ended the others all tried reaching out to him, exept for bitter void. He didn’t reply to a single one of them, until eventually passionate beyond lesser understanding reached out with a forced communication.

Pblu: “Empathy, you know I don’t like abusing my authority as senior but this is serious, we know you lost scruffy but it isn’t like you not to talk to us about your problems.”

Coe: “you wouldn’t understand…”

Pblu: “empathy, I have sent a purposed organism to you, he will arrive in approximately 10 cycles.”

Coe: “I know what your trying to do. You can’t replace him.”

Pblu: “I’m not trying to replace him, I’m trying to help you, you don’t need to forget scruffy but another friend may help you cope better.”

Coe: “…”

And so a few cycles later another slugcat arrived, not a typical purposed organism, it was an pink slugcat with a collar, slightly underweight but in its stomach it had a locket with a picture of Coe and Scruffy. Coe immediately started warming up to the slugcat, cleaning it up and even naming it puce. After a while puce and Coe got close,Coe even started letting her sleep in scruffy’s old den, feeding her, but something still felt…off. It would probably be fine, he’s just still getting over scruffy. He kept slowly warming up and getting to understand puce, she was much more energetic so he turned his chamber into a massive shelter and added a jungle gym and a rest area. But he still couldn’t shake that feeling…whatever, it will heal with time, he hung up a picture of scruffy and himself and started talking to the others again, he told Sol and Heavenly about the lingering feeling

Sol: “oh, I don’t think that will heal with time, maybe you just need to vent?”

Coe: “Nevermind, I’m gonna go.”

Heavenly: “wait-“

Coe: “bye.”

After a while Coe grabbed puce wrapped up in a blanket and cried, well, no tears but he felt like he was crying. Eventually he calmed down and felt a bit better, maybe he would just have to live with this, sometimes even gods feel fragile.

[praxcrown5]

Carstober Prompt 24: Mutiny

I drew the sketch before I wrote the blurbo...so some of the details are a bit off...but I still really like this. And! Hey! I finally got sketches of Spinney, Claire and Ezra! Blurbo after the break.

"Pa! The Glenrunner's are here in camp!" Ezra Longhauler skidded to a stop in front a green, Ford model AA pickup truck.

Spinney set down his end of a large, two truck crosscut saw and gave his oldest son a look that tottered somewhere between horrified and confused. "Is it Otis?"

"Not just Otis..." Ezra shifted nervously on his tires. "It's the whole damn clan; at least two dozen of 'em. And they don't look happy."

Spinney pursed his lips. "Round everyone up and meet us at the landing. Have them bring their tools just in case Otis tries somethin'."

The Capital Motors COE nodded and sped off in a cloud of red dust.

Once their son was out of hearing range, Spinney looked towards his wife, a cream colored, Holismobile panel van. "How much you wanna bet Annette set him to this..."

Claire frowned. "It's possible...but she ain't never spurred him to action before..."

"Hmmm..." He started his engine and headed west, ducking around stumps and felled logs, Claire following in his tracks.

"You want I should call in the rest of the family?"

Spinney considered this for a moment. "Maybe...but then again, he could be wantin' that." His shades drew down. "We'll hear him out...and if he wanna call out trouble then we'll answer."

The road curved around a large, isolated outcrop of sandstone before opening up into a pasture the Longhaulers used to house and feed their yarding tractors. Most of the beasts were sleeping, though a few noticed the pair and followed them along the fence line, hoping for a snack.

Beyond the pasture was the landing, a large level area where bucked logs were staged for loading or milling. Beyond these was the sawmill itself. Normally, all the sawers would be inside processing the logs into cants...but everyone was outside in the loading area gawking at a large group of cars that were, effectively, blocking the only road that left the property.

Spinney hesitated, briefly. It wasn't just the Dawsonville Glenrunners... the entire clan was here, cars that he hadn't seen in decades--including Otis' mother and step-father--filling out the ranks...and glaring at him like they wanted to toss him into a smelter.

Otis Glenrunner was idling out front, flanked by all three of his children. Annette looked especially angry, and her stunning, sapphire blue eyes seemed to track him wherever he moved.

"Howdy, y'all," Otis called out. "Might we have a word?" He smiled, then, but it was hardly welcoming. It was a cold and calculating expression...and it sent a jolt of apprehension through Spinney's engine block.

Spinney hesitated, briefly, and opened his mouth to reply...but then Ezra sped up behind him, followed by all of his siblings except for Sam. They formed a protective half circle around and behind their parents, tools brandished like weapons.

The air was suddenly even more tense.

All the Longhaulers glared at the Glenrunners, and the Glenrunners glared right back, struts extended slightly to make themselves seem larger and more intimidating.

Emboldened by his family's show of force, Spinney rolled forward, lips stretched into a menacing grin. "Otis! Always a pleasure to see you in these parts." His shades drew down into a predatory glare. "What can I do ya fer?"

"Spinney..." Claire said after him, concerned. "Somethin' ain't right..."

Otis smirked and canted his wheels in a shrug. "I just wanted to share some good news."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yep."

"Need the whole family fer that, eh?"

Otis's grin deepened. "For this news, yeah." He paused, seemingly for effect. "Annette's carryin'.

Spinney rocked back on his wheels like Otis had rammed him. "What?"

"Got mud on your side windows? Annette's carryin'."

Claire drew back, her expression some strange amalgam of shocked and horrified.

Spinney just stared.

Stared for a full three minutes, mouth hanging open in shock.

"Urm...that's..." he stammered, eyes flicking to the faces of his children...all of whom were staring at him with looks of barely restrained anger. Ezra went a step further and said. "Y'all told us that Annette couldn't have kids. That she was barren..."

The landing got so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop. Even the surrounding woods seemed to hush up as if they, too, wanted an explanation.

"Well...I..." Spinney stammered.

More silence. More faces turning to glare at the Longhauler patriarch with disdain.

Eventually, Otis' voice hewed the tension like an axe. "Look, I know some things were said that are probably regretful in light of this happy news. But, we just all wanted to say, that here are no hard feelings."

Spinney's right eye twitched and he tried to speak, but found himself incapable of making any sound save for a strangled wheeze.

"We're fixin' to leave for Detroit in the next hour or so. Annette got a hold of Sam, and he's ecstatic! Knew all along that things would work out given enough time." Otis' smirk grew to claim the entirety of his grille. "Figured y'all would wanna be kept in the loop."

Annette looked at her father for a moment, then fixed spinney with a stare and nodded.

Spinney said nothing.

"Y'all are welcome to come with us."

"But..." Finally Spinney found his voice. "How?"

Otis flashed the pickup with a sly stare. "Y'all got 11 kids...pretty sure you know how."

Spinney opened his mouth to offer a scathing retort...but realized, very quickly, that there was nothing that he could say that wouldn't make the situation look really, really bad.

"Unfortunately, we have business commitments here that must be attended to..." Claire interjected, hurriedly. "But, um, do send us a postcard when you get to Detroit." She nudged Spinney's tire and gave him a look that practically screamed "keep your godammed mouth shut." "Where are you going? Ford? Cadillac?"

"Hudson."

"Oh!" Claire gave Otis the most disparaging smile she could manage and nudged Spinney's tire. "Our grandchild will be a...Hudson. Isn't that wonderful, honey?"

Spinney grumbled something that sounded like "Yeah. Nice."

There was another long, tense pause before Annette cleared her throat and said "We really should be going." She looked at her father. "it's a long drive, and the clock's ticking."

Otis nodded though his green eyes were locked onto Spinney's. "Yeah. Can't wait to meet the little one," His expression darkened. "We've been waiting a long, LONG time for this."

"Urm...don't let us keep you." Spinney gestured towards the road with a tire.

Otis held his gaze for a moment. Then he nodded and lowered his front end in a gesture of respect.

But as he brought himself upright, he fixed the rest of the Longhauler clan with a look that scared them all down to their cores. Then, he left, his children turning to follow first, then eventually mirrored by the rest of their family.

[therealgchu]

Seven Days - Day 3

Chapter 3 - Day 3 is up!

its funny how branes work. writing this fic has made me change how my main fic, To the Shore ends.

If you want to read Seven Days from the beginning, here it is over at ao3.

for my other fics, also on ao3.

sneak peek incoming!

“You lose everything. And, I mean everything.” She opened her eyes to stare directly into his. “You’re reborn into your new universe and given the Starborn suit and the ship. Everything else is taken away. Everything except your memories.”

“What happens if you go with someone? Do you end up in the same universe together?”

“No. Like I said, you’re left with nothing.”

“What happens to the other person?”

“I assume they get reborn into some other universe. But, there’s no way of knowing, and a mathematically zero chance of ever finding them again.”

“So why go? Why bother? I can’t imagine losing everything like that is worth it.”

She peered closely at Sam. “My Sam told me that his truest love was exploring, that he lived for seeing new stars and planets. He then tried to preface it by saying ‘besides Cora and me,’ but I knew better. Tell me truthfully, Sam Coe, would you pass up the opportunity to explore the multiverse? The greatest mystery humankind has ever seen?”

“If it meant I had to lose Cora, absolutely not,” he answered without hesitation.

The woman sat back on her chair, “Maybe you are more different from my Sam than I originally thought.”

“Do you think he would have gone?”

“Yes, eventually. If he had lived, I think he would have waited until Cora grew up, but I am certain that he’d go through Unity.”

“Maybe he didn’t love you as much as you thought,” Sam said cruelly.

She nodded, “I’ve often thought that.” She shifted in her chair and sighed, “I was not the easiest person to love, I don’t think. I told him that I was severely broken, and that I’d probably never be normal. But, he didn’t care.” She shook her head and composed herself, “Regardless. What other questions do you have?”

“How do you do that? You looked like you were going to break there, and now you’re back to being a robot. Vasco shows more emotion than you.”

“Years and years of discipline.”

[featherxquill-yuletide]

Dear Yuletide Writer 2024

Dear Yuletide Author, 

It's been a while since I posted one of these! (holy shit 2016 how does that feel like half a lifetime ago). Thank you for offering one of the fandoms I requested this year! I'm excited to play again and I'm glad we matched.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of things I like: worldbuilding, small character moments, atmospheric setting, casefic, crackling dialogue, missing moments, unlikely pairings (romantic or otherwise), older women with rich interior lives, realistic bodies, things unspoken but very much felt. 

I don't really have any major DNWs (I'm pretty game, or pretty stupid? idk) and I'm open to everything from gen to full-on smut (except where otherwise noted). I prefer romantic or sexual interaction of any variety to have a sting in the tail (I'm not super into fluff in general) and I prefer for any smut to come from a place of character, but yeah, have at it. I don't think I really need to say 'keep all characters over the age of 18' given who I've requested, but yeah, that. 

Onto my individual requests:

Request 1

Slow Horses (TV)

Characters: Catherine Standish, Jackson Lamb, Louisa Guy, Roddy Ho

DNW smut in this fandom, please. I don’t mind flirting or shippyness if you see it, but I’ll need convincing, so do the fic equivalent of buying me a drink first, yeah?

Things I love about this series: the whip-smart dialogue, the unlikeable characters that sneakily trick you into loving them, the moments of humour and unbearable tension. The character I’m most drawn to is Standish, so please make sure she is included in the story. You may add any or all of the other characters as you wish.

Some ideas I’d love to see, if they take your fancy: missing moments at Slough House between these characters. I’m currently reading Mick Herron’s book series alongside watching the show, and I’m charmed by the connection between Catherine and Roddy that the books hint at but the show doesn’t really explore, but I’d also love to see Catherine bring her particular understanding of people to any of the residents of Slough House - what kind of understanding does she have with Louisa, or fellow addict Marcus (though he’s obviously at a quite different stage in his journey), or touchy and damaged Coe? Explore that twisted codependency between Standish and Lamb some more - I like the dysfunctional parents vibe they have and would love to see it played around with over time. How has their dynamic shifted as people cycled through Slough House? Do they have a history before that? Feel free to bring in characters not at Slough House, too - what would a lengthier interaction between Standish and Taverner look like if they got stuck in a car or lift together for some reason?

If you prefer a more ensemble cast, give me a case fic - the team solving a mystery despicable or benign, dealing with another brilliant idea of River’s, or maybe even dealing with something supernatural, if you care to invoke a bit of Ben Aaronovitch or Neil Gaiman. The slow horses fucking over the Park is also always a delight.

Request 2 

Butchered Tongue - Hozier (song)

This request is very open. Basically, I adore this haunting little number. It evokes for me stories of travel and homecoming, violence and trauma, protest through voice and language. The narrator could be a person meeting people and collecting stories, or a witness to colonial violence. It could be a story of voices silenced and found, of people searching for the idea of ‘home’. I love the juxtaposition of earth as both a place of burial and a place for growth, of places close and distant that all have similar stories. I’d love for you to write about whatever journey this song takes you on.

Request 3

Hamlet - Shakespeare

Honestly, make this one as fucked up as you like. Hamlet is my favourite Shakespeare play, and although I’ve taught it as many times as I can, my interest has never been all that academic. I love the way it’s one big soap opera, all the dysfunctional relationships in it and the different possible motivations of the characters.

Gertrude is consistently the character I’m most drawn to, so I chose those three characters because I’d like some combination of Gertrude/Claudius, Gertrude/Hamlet or Gertrude/Claudius/Hamlet in all their fucked up glory.

Some questions/prompts: why did Gertrude marry Claudius, and how is that working out? Was it purely to avoid the power vacuum that her husband’s death left behind, or did she really want him? How is the rank sweat of that enseamed bed? Is it all she ever wanted? More than she bargained for? Was that poisoning plot all his idea, or is she the master manipulator?

And what is Hamlet’s obsession with his mother’s sex life? How much more intense have interactions between them been? Is Hamlet jealous of Claudius? I am absolutely here for all the twisted mother/son dynamics you can come up with.

If it helps, my preferred staging of this play is the 2009 RSC production with David Tennant (currently available on YouTube). I would love to read something both kinda hot and deeply discomfiting.

Request 4

Arc of a Scythe - Neal Shusterman

Scythe Curie, Scythe Faraday, Scythe Rand

I love this series! I love this world, the it's not-really-a-dystopia-actually of it all. I love the politics of Scythedom and the complexity of feeling around the idea of taking human life, the rituals the various scythes have for coping with the moral burden of their duty (or not, as the case may be - pretending that there isn't any moral burden and this thing should be fun).

I've chosen all the characters for this tagset because, with these three characters, why not? That said, you don't have to include all three of these characters. I'd like my gift to involve Curie, who is my favourite, but you can decide who you would like to write about her interacting with.

Some ideas: I love the canonical relationship between Curie and Faraday, so if you'd like to write me a moment from their seven-year affair, I'm all for that in whatever form it takes. I love a good bit of angst, too, so what was the first time they saw each other again after 70 years like? Make it emotionally fraught and achey and full of longing, or make it adult and moving on and finding closure, whatever appeals to you. BUT. These two were done DIRTY by canon, so I'd also love it if you FIXED THAT. Are there, somehow, two copies of Curie now in existence? Did she get revived somehow on earth in a way that the Thunderhead/Cirri never learned about, so now there's the version 2.0 we met in Gleanings, but also the OG revived on earth and getting to have her retirement off grid somewhere with Faraday? MAKE IT HAPPEN. My only note here is that I'd prefer to see these characters as adults with a bit of life experience, like we see them in canon or at least after their first turn-of-the-corner or two. I'm not really interested in Curie's years as an apprentice, so I'd prefer if you avoided that.

If you're more interested in Rand, I'd love to see an interaction between her and Curie. Have they interacted at Conclaves over the years, or was there a time when Rand considered breaking away from Goddard, sought out a more old-guard mentor and got rebuffed? If you can make me believe a femslash moment between them, I'd be into it, or could there be a time where Rand was involved in raising new apprentices that Curie had something to do with? Does she have a special skill she has demonstrated to terrified new apprentices?

I absolutely welcome treats, my main is featherxquill, and you'll also find me on Twitter by that name. Thank you for writing for me!

[lesbiten]

like overall i think my problem is that i came out of season 9 unable to name a single character trait of hers. and hey! maybe thats on me. but like. idk man

[candlelightreader]

I really like all of this! Meta is my jam, because I think series 1 and 2 give us depth even among some of the inconsistency. Or perhaps I should say potential. Which is why there is so much room for fic to move into.

I believe I've read that fic! If not I'll definitely go re-read it. Or perhaps I've encountered that conceptualization of Jack pulling away post-Exit Wounds and Ianto having to wake him up. And certainly Jack changes tons in series 2 which I attribute to both the realization of what his existence means and the impact of the year that never was. I've read many interpretations of how he mentally survived that year and I'm always looking for more. A lot of time, it is speculated that Jack thought about his team endlessly, as they really are his family and he theirs in many ways (except maybe for Gwen which makes her once again an outlier). And I like this idea, that through the pain he found comfort in remembering them and wishing for their survival. But ultimately I like to think that he makes the decision to go back to his team after seeing how dismissive the Doctor is towards him. (I have not forgiven the Doctor for how he treats Jack upon their reunion and after the Year, and I am at a loss why Jack did.)

I don't like to dwell on Gwen, frankly. But I like to hear how people are analyzing her! She is just not interesting to me. Her role as the audience's eyes was unnecessary at worst, and badly executed at best. The whole parallel to a Doctor's companion may have been the issue, because Jack is not the Doctor and she lacked the charisma to pull off some of her stunts in my eyes. Sometimes, fic manages to render her palatable, mainly by shrinking her screen time. I just can't stand her because of all the team members, she is the least evolved by series 2 in my opinion. Would love to hear more of your take tho. That whole part where she's 'undamaged' compared to the others, and, therefore, prompts Jack to not want to be the one to 'damage' her has been an interesting line of thought I think.

Oh and Ianto and Jack... I certainly align with him having some inkling re-Jack prior to joining. He may have heard rumours that he doesn't know whether or not believe but that maybe allow him to make more advanced leaps once he is within proximity of the man himself... I really do like your distinction between Jack's confidence in Gwen vs Ianto. Placating Gwen certainly seems to be his motive in telling her things--to keep her off his back. But with Ianto there is a vulnerability when does reveal something, and most of all because Ianto pressures him into it. I think CoE shows this when he finally reveals what he did. He cares what Ianto thinks even though he probably doesn't want to. (That is if I remember correctly. I frankly have not rewatched CoE since it aired because I can't stand the imminence of episode 4.)

It's not a specific direction in the script, but I think one of the most important little details from early season 1 is Jack's reaction in the immediate aftermath of Estelle's death.

For a moment he allows himself to hold her and mourn, and then he stands up and physically pushes down the pain and grief. We watch him start tearful, with a twisted grimace on his face, and then he stands, crookedly, and breathes in and then out and straightens himself slowly, his expression forcibly changing into something more neutral. We seem him make himself push it all down and away and compartmentalize or simply repress.

The next scene is him talking about Estelle to Gwen, about how much he loved her, and it's obvious he's still very shaken. He gulps down his drink and seems to be almost shaking. But it's not the horrible devastated expression of earlier.

It's important because it allows this understanding and glimpse of what Jack has probably gone through over and over in his time on earth. We get to see just how deeply affected he is. But we also get to see the ways in which his role as leader and also his immortality force him to hide his grief or push it away. We see him do exactly that and yet we also see how much it affects his decisions afterward.

I like it because it establishes this kind of reaction/coping mechanism fairly early in the series. Jack has to keep going. He has literally no choice. Not only is he leader (and therefore assumes he can't show weakness or whatever) but he is immortal, and he has to be able to keep going despite losing everyone he loves. Because he can't not. There's nothing he can do. Which means that similar behavior later on in the series is not unusual or cold-hearted or a surprise. It's just how he has to be in order to keep going.

[silurisanguine]

15 lines of Dialogue game

As ive been away for the weekend, not sure if anyone tagged me with this but saw it open tag so here we go. Tagging @vorchagirl @despicablediet and anyone who'd like to do it! 15 Lines of Dialogue Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well! Since i've written the most with Seren Jones, I shall pick her for this!

1 -"Maybe I am, but there isn’t anything left in this universe worth staying for. Whatever is in the next universe has to be better than this one Barrett, it has to. I can't bare to stay here any more, not without him, not when I could have done it so differently."

2 - "Cora… she was there, saw her dad die…She hated me, blamed me for not saving him. After the funeral, Lillian took her and that was the last I ever saw that wonderful twelve year old. I realised then I had no reason to stay in my universe as everything i loved had been taken from me. I hoped maybe another would give me a second chance. To fix things..to try again…

…That’s why I do this.”

3 - "I came here the first time with no preconception of what I’d find. I was in awe at the location, just as you are now. But what I learned here has guided my hand in relation to how I see the Artifacts, how I see Unity and the Starborn. Anyone who wants to complete the Artifact collection, needs to know the full story for themselves.”

4- "Now you see how dangerous this place is, and this is just the start. The Starborn Guardians here have lost all empathy, all compassion, their humanity in pursuit of their cause. They have nothing left in their existence except to stop anyone else reaching the Temple. …I sometimes wonder what is the point of their existence before I wipe them out of it for good.”

5 -”You washed them clean. I can say one good thing about Lillian in that she gave you the chance to do that. You’re not the same man, Sam.”

6 -”They makes me smile every time I come back here. But I’m not entirely alone, the fish there get a view unlike any other.” She pointed to the couple of little fish swimming in their tanks, sitting right at the edge of the massive view screen. “If you don’t mind taking care of them for me, they’ve been a good little crew, never complained once.”

7 - "I've never met you before. Until today I'd never met a single pirate here." That was the truth, if a little stretched Seren thought.

8 -"All this, this universe is a nightmare. I've been to so many variations and… You… everyone here is so different, so wrong. It’s like Unity decided to show me the worst outcome possible just to make me appreciate who I’d - what I’d lost.”

9 -"Neat trick, have to remember that next time I'm in a hell-hole universe."

10 -"Sorry, Sam, just picturing you over Vlad’s head brought on images of you in ballet tights and…yeah, sorry, I have too much imagination.”

11 - "Yes, justice, Delgado. See that’s behind most things I do now. In this case justice for those your fucking coloured coded Spacers have harmed- have murdered. It’s interesting really how far I got here without anyone realising who I really am... I wondered why no one noticed the SIN of my ship. Even Jess surprisingly. It was a gamble using it of course…But no one ever clocked that I was flying the Razorleaf."

12- “Until I knew for sure you felt the same way I did, I wasn’t sure how to really act around you. But now I know, expect more of this, Sam Coe.”

13 - “You know I would! I mean she called me darlin, you know that makes me melt.”

14 - "…He always said he was bad with words, yet he could say things that were like love poetry to me, that would dazzle me. He was so open with his feelings when he trusted you. Funny, absurd sometimes and he cared deeply and loved passionately. He was an amazing father and I-"

15 - "I've no idea. Being Starborn didn't exactly come with a manual."

[mediawhorefics]

it's my darling @ardentlyadmire 's bday today so first of all you should all wish her a happy birthday!!! but secondly, i wrote her a little weird torchwood drabble as a gift. feel free to look away this is so fucking niche i doubt anyone else is interested. 

@ eline i've already sent you private wishes so i won't gush too much but happy birthday !!! i love you and i'm so lucky to have you in my life. i'm sorry your bday gift is weird as hell. i have no excuse. here's 2.6k of ianto being annoyed @ norton with a hint of past owen/norton. & some jack/ianto angst. timeline wise this makes like.... zero sense because it's set before coe & outbreak. i dont remember everything about outbreak but i think it's technically ianto & norton's first meeting?? so yeah just.... ignore that. hope you'll enjoy ianto being an annoyed little bitch, i'm sorry it got kind of sad at the end rip rip. (i might post this to ao3 but again it's so niche it was basically written for an audience of one so idk) ANYWAYS HAPPY BIRTHDAY I HOPE YOU’LL LIKE IT 

Oh, there is no need to pout quite so dramatically pet. You’ll be back in the dear Captain’s arms in no time. I can assure you.” 

Norton Folgate’s flippant and overly confident tone does nothing to calm Ianto’s nerves, quite the opposite. What initially started as mild anxiety at the thought of being trapped somewhere in the mid-1950s had blown into irritation at the realisation that Norton – with his flip-flopping and projecting all over the 20th & 21st century – was the only one with the knowledge and experience to help him make his way back. The entirety of Torchwood One at their disposal and Norton Folgate is the only one who can help? It sounds like the start of a bad joke.

That was a few days ago though. Long enough for that tiny prickle of irritation to grow and fester, long enough for any traces of decorum Ianto Jones might have had left (and Ianto loves his decorum!) to vanish into thin air, not unlike he had done when he touched the damned alien artefact. 

Why on Earth did he touch the damned alien artefact? He knows better than that. He’s not a young recruit, still green and inexperienced, eager to prove himself. 

Alright, alright, maybe he is still eager to prove himself, a part of him always will be after spending so long in the shadows, treated like part of the decor rather than part of the team. It doesn’t change anything though. Ianto doesn’t make those kinds of mistakes. Oh, he makes plenty of mistakes, thank you very much. But his tend to be the almost letting a cyberman take over the world because he was in love with the human said cyberman used to be or condemning his boss to a cruel death on an alien planet in a grief-induced rage kind. Not the silly accidentally pushed a button type of stuff. It’s so undignified. 

Except he did. He touched the thing and woke up near the Thames in what was clearly no longer Cardiff or the modern age. Turned out he turned up near a very popular hookup spot and having to run away from the police even though he was clearly alone was almost as embarrassing as bumping into Norton in said popular hookup spot. 

All in all, Ianto would describe it as quite a bad day. 

Norton offered little compassion in the face of his predicament, waving his lover away with a small “business calls love, you understand”. For Ianto, he had nothing more than a patronising laugh to offer after hearing his tale, accompanied by a mocking “surely you’re more experienced at handling alien things than that”, dripping with innuendo. 

That was the first of many times Ianto seriously considered murder while stranded. 

A couple of arguments with Torchwood One higher-ups later and Ianto was officially Norton’s responsibility. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Deep breath, Ianto mentally tells himself. He’s the only one who can get you home unless the Doctor miraculously shows up. 

For a second, Ianto does wrack his brain trying to remember if Jack ever mentioned travelling to the 50s with the Time-Lord before he shakes his head. He’s being foolish. They’re almost done. Soon, he’ll be free. 

“Returning to Jack is not my only concern,” Ianto still replies through gritted teeth, unable to let Norton have the last word. He likes it way too much. Though, if Ianto is quite honest with himself, getting back to Jack is high up on the list. “I have a life in the future,” he adds quite emphatically. “And a team that needs me.” Maybe if he says it strongly enough, it’ll feel true. 

Norton rolls his eyes dramatically in response, letting go of the frankly alarming machine he’s been fiddling with for days now to gesticulate flamboyantly in a manner that seems to perfectly embody a sarcastic “yes, yes, of course”. 

Ianto surprises himself by realising there is one of Jack’s exes he hates more than Captain John Hart. 

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Ianto asks instead of continuing down that train of thought. Only misery lies there and God knows Ianto is miserable enough right now. 

He thought this would be more fun is all. Not that he ever imagined he’d actually get here. But he’s always been nostalgic, he can’t help himself. It’s one of those random things he and Jack have in common, one of those threads that pulls them together, that Ianto tugs on a little when insecurity comes knocking and he wonders why Jack even bothers with him. Jack’s timeless qualities, the sense he belongs in years gone by, was part of the initial attraction. Ianto can admit that to himself. Which means that mixed in with the panic and the irritation, there was also a little bit of subdued excitement. He wouldn’t have wished this on himself, of course not, but now that he’s here… Part of him hoped he’d have a good story to tell. Yes, maybe the thought, after the initial Bollocks! moment, that he’d have a wander through an era long gone and enjoy it, revel in the nostalgia for a few days, before being sent back home with the memories of a lifetime and stories to tell crossed his mind. Something to share with Jack. 

Instead, he gets Norton and his quips. Norton and his cramped flat. Norton and his inappropriate comments about Jack and their past. Norton and his even more inappropriate flirting. 

Even worse, he gets the reality of the past instead of an idealised vintage postcard version. A world of prejudice and suspicion. And he thought growing up queer in Wales in the late 90s was terrible… He’ll keep his old movies and his imagination, thank you. As little as he trusts the machine Norton has been fixing up  – and he trusts Norton even less – Ianto is starting to be really eager to get back home.

Norton gives him an exasperated look. “Would have I agreed to babysit you if I couldn’t even send you home?” he asks matter-of-factly, pressing a few buttons in an expert manner. He does look competent for a second there, but instead of reassuring him, all it does is make Ianto miss Tosh with a fierceness he can’t fight against. “Now be a dear and shut your pretty mouth,” Norton adds, one finger up in warning. “This is a delicate part of the process.” 

Ianto calls every ounce of restraint in his body and somehow manages to stop himself from huffing. He does however fold his arms over his chest and leans back against one of the desks in the workshops they’ve borrowed. He refuses to call what he’s doing pouting. But it’s close. 

An eternity later – fine! maybe thirty minutes later – Norton lets out a triumphant yell. 

“There! All fixed up!” he declares, turning around to face Ianto with a beaming smile. “You are good to go back to…” he hesitates, wrinkling his nose, “well whatever it is you all do in the future.” 

Ianto opens his mouth, to say what? he’s not sure, but Norton interrupts him with a snort.

“Oh no, I can easily imagine,” he says teasingly, stopping him. 

Ianto closes his eyes, putting a hand to his forehead. He’s developing a headache. He’s sure he is. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?” he finally says, leaning off the table and walking back towards the thing that is supposed to get him home.

 “Yes, let’s,” Norton nods.“Oh, this reminds me, do say hello to that grumpy doctor for me when you get back,” Norton adds, purrs really, and Ianto feels it like a knife to the heart. “I do like a man with a great bone structure,” he continues, blissfully unaware, somehow still fiddling with the machine he claims is ready. Ianto still can’t believe he’s going to trust it to take him home. 

It takes a few seconds for Norton to realise something is wrong, used as he’s become to Ianto’s relatively difficult attitude these past few days. But the silence stretches past the point of comfort and it is out of character for Ianto to go so long without complaining (not that he’d own to it) so Norton glances back up at him, mouth opening to mock, most likely, when their eyes finally meet. He realises his mistake straight away. 

“Oh,” Norton exhales quietly, a shadow passing over his face, a suddenly terribly human and vulnerable expression in his eyes. 

Ianto swallows hard. He doesn’t want to talk about this. Least of all with Norton. But it is slightly comforting to notice an actual heart beneath the flippant exterior. 

“Time travel,” Norton finally sighs, shaking his head. “One never quite wraps one’s head around it,” he adds quietly, almost like a confession. Ianto is surprised to find there’s actual grief in Norton’s words, not the performance of it for Ianto’s sake. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he continues, voice still low and he immediately goes back to the settings on the machine, eyebrows furrowing when what looks like an error message in some alien language pops up on the little display screen attached to the tech. 

Again, Ianto can’t believe he’s putting his safety into the hands of this man and his otherworldly linguistics abilities. 

“How did you know Owen anyways?” Ianto says, a bit more brusquely than intended. He’s not sure why the thought of them knowing each other suddenly irritates him, a weird sense of possessiveness settling in his lower belly. This is his team Norton is talking about. He has no right to mourn them alongside Ianto, has no right to the emptiness Owen and Tosh have left behind, the hub now haunted by their absence. Who does he think he is?

Norton smiles sadly. “Oh, you know me,” he says, the cheerfulness in his voice now obviously forced. It always seemed like a mask, of course, a carefully curated persona Norton puts on to defy others and their judgement of who he is so blatantly and for all that Ianto finds him a bit unbearable, there’s admiration there too. He’s not sure he’d be so obviously himself, so exaggeratedly so, if he’d been raised in a time like this. He hasn’t even told his family about Jack yet, scared they’ll put him in not quite the right box and he won’t be able to make them understand. There’s fear of things not being the same, of being seen differently, of course, but also… Ianto doesn’t want them to dismiss Lisa. Not when what they shared and her loss shaped his whole life. Most of all though, he’s scared. He faces bloody aliens for a living and he’s fucking scared. But here is Norton. Loud. In a time where it’s illegal for him to be so. Yet, for the first time, the loudness finally seems fake, something buried deep underneath it that Norton is clearly trying to hide... Ianto almost wants to poke at it. He would if he wasn’t worried of getting his head bitten off. 

After quite a long pause, Norton finally continues. “Always playing with things I shouldn’t touch and projecting to times I shouldn’t visit. It’s how I became friends with Andy. And how I met Dr Harper.” 

The use of the official title somehow bothers him and Ianto stays silent a beat too long. It’s only when their eyes finally meet that Norton betrays himself. Oh, Ianto thinks, surprised. “He never said,” he says out loud, realising half a beat too late it might come across as insensitive.

“That we knew each other?” Norton rolls his eyes to hide the hurt on his face. “Doesn’t surprise me. He wasn’t very chatty, was he? Oh, he always had a snippy remark and a smirk, but it was quite impossible to get him to say anything of substance, wouldn’t you agree? He certainly wasn’t the most emotionally open of men.” Norton puts emphasis on the past tense, still typing frantically on the alien screen like maybe he’s trying to convince himself Owen is really gone. Though of course, for Norton, he hasn’t even been born yet. 

Now that’s a mindfuck. 

Ianto briefly wonders if this is what it feels like for Jack sometimes, trying to understand the world in a temporal dimension no one else around him can fully perceive. Except maybe the Doctor. 

“But then again,” Norton continues, unaware of Ianto’s internal musings over the temporal permanence of the man he still hasn’t summoned the courage to call his boyfriend, “aren’t we all like that?” 

When their eyes meet, Norton arches an eyebrow pointedly and Ianto feels his mouth drying a little. 

“We?” he echoes, suddenly aware that he doesn’t really want to talk about his attraction to men, to a man in particular, with this ghost of the past. 

“Torchwood agents,” Norton clarifies, tilting his head and oh, right. The whole secret government agency thing. “We get quite good at lying and pushing it all away, duty commands. But maybe we get too good at it, so much so we can’t let go of the habit when it really matters.” 

He seems remorseful as he says it and Ianto can’t help but wonder if he’s talking about whatever it is he shared with Owen that Ianto clearly will never be privy to, or if he’s thinking of someone else. Or many someones. Perhaps, not unlike Ianto, he can see a parade of faces he’s been emotionally detached from because his country asked him to. Maybe he’s thinking back on years of lies and deceits. 

Norton sighs, a small thing. “Still, I liked Dr Harper,” he admits. “Owen,” he adds in a softer voice. “I can imagine his absence has left quite a void in your team.” 

Ianto swallows, hard, instead of replying. “I…” he tries, fails. 

Their eyes meet again, Norton’s filled with understanding. He nods, offering Ianto a sad smile. 

“But we don’t have to talk about it, of course, I was merely offering my condolences, which I have done. As well as fixing this little bug, so you’re quite good to go now.” 

Ianto widens his eyes, giving Norton a disbelieving look. “Somehow, I don’t trust it.” 

“Of course you don’t,” Norton replies dismissively. “You don’t trust me. But I’m your only chance.” He pauses, dramatically, before grabbing the complicated machine, its many parts spilling over Norton’s arms like a mechanical octopus, the screen looking like some head to this monster. “So, what will it be Ianto Jones?” 

Ianto exhales. “I suppose I don’t have much of a choice,”  he says, irritated. 

“Well, you can stay,” Norton says and for the first time, it doesn’t sound like aggressive flirting, the way almost everything else out of his mouth does.  

“Here?” Ianto laughs, disbelieving. He shakes his head. “I don’t think so.” 

“Might be safer,” Norton whispers, the tone of his voice sending uncomfortable chills down Ianto’s spine. 

It sounds like he knows something. Well, he would. Jumping up and down the timeline as he does. 

“It’s Torchwood,” Ianto shrugs, a tremble of fear and discomfort caught in his throat. “There’s no such thing as safer.” 

Norton looks at him, really looks at him, not a hint of mockery or amusement on his face. He seems solemn. “Quite right,”  he finally agrees after a beat, taking a step forward to wrap the mechanical legs of the octopus around Ianto’s torso. “Now this is going to hurt I’m afraid,” he adds, both patronising and teasing at the same time. 

Ianto laughs on a nervous exhale. There he is, the insufferable Norton he’s been trapped with for days. 

“I wouldn't expect it any other way,” Ianto replies, arching one eyebrows. 

Norton nods. “Well, off you go then Mr Jones,” he says, holding out his hand for Ianto to shake. 

“Mr Folgate.” Ianto nods back, holding the other man’s hand a beat too long. Finally, when he lets go, he says: “I’m sorry for your loss too Norton.” 

He barely has the time to see the flash of surprise on Norton’s face before he vanishes in an explosion of light. 

[m-feys]

I would tell you that I loved you (If I thought that you could stay)

one shot | set after COE in a Ianto never dies au | date night | Ianto POV | Jack/Ianto | 2500~ words | can also be read on my ao3 (m_feys) |

-

They decide to walk to the upscale restaurant. They're close enough that their jackets brush together as they move, but they don't touch. They often don't. Ianto used to be content with that, had been happy about it, even, that he could pretend to be something other than deeply in love with this man in the eyes of other people.

Now he's not so sure, but Jack still doesn't touch him in public, save for the reassuring hand to his shoulder on special occasions. No, Jack reins himself in. Ianto is not sure he'll ever have a proper scope of just how much. But he understands that the culture Jack had been born into, one some three thousand years into the future, was one where touch was freely given and love didn't get held back. Jack had changed so much since he was a young man, that was something Ianto could easily understand.

Right now, he's traded in his slacks and suspenders for a proper suit, a deep grey color with a pale blue dress shirt. It's buttoned-up neat and his hair's been slicked back. He looks like someone who stepped straight out of 1945, as he often does, even more so now. Ianto is certain the look is more than love for the aesthetic, there must be something about the era he's particularly fond of. The tie he's wearing is coral blue with deeper blue swirls twisting across the fabric. Jack knows its one of his favorites.

They sit at their reserved table, it's one on the second floor, by the window with a stunning view of the bay. You can see Flat Holm from here, though the island dark, save for the faintest of lights in the distance.

Ianto shrugs off his jacket and drapes it on the chair behind him, with Jack following suit. Ianto has on one of his nicer three-piece numbers. It's deep black with an embroidered vest, delicate white vines decorating the dark fabric. The vest makes a fine cut of his figure in a way he knows Jack appreciates. His shirt is a stiff, clean white but the tie he's worn is a deep red blooming at his throat. Jack loves him in red, for the way it compliments his eyes.

Jack smiles at him where they sit across from one another, "What do you think of the view?" Jack asks, never one to stay silent for too long.

"Amazing." Ianto smiles back. The couple's table with a candle burning in the center is an unmistakenly romantic venue for them, though Ianto wouldn't mention it. He knows how Jack gets when he starts commenting on the specifics of their relationship. The annoyance he has about how much Ianto cares about definitions, and other people's opinions.

Ianto desperately wants to broach the topic of exactly what they are but he has no idea how, when Jack seems so reluctant to invest any words in them. Maybe they're not what Ianto thinks they are, so often he's not sure.

Jack's hand has come to rest in the middle of the table, it's an invitation. On nights like these Jack always reaches for some sort of physical contact, even in public, like they're playing romance on these nights.

Jack will take Ianto home, and if Ianto initiates it, they'll hold hands as they walk. He'll wait to see if Ianto invites him up to his flat (he always does), and it's not as if Jack needs to be invited, he does have a key, after all. And they sit and talk and kiss until they've strewn those nice suits on the floor and Jack stays the night with him, and Ianto watches him sleep sometimes, studying the way his face shifts as he dreams.

He wonders if, tonight, because they're playing romance, they could do the sorts of things that couples do. That maybe he could ask.

He crosses his ankles under the table, he knows Jack will keep his feet flat on the floor until he gets bored and decides to rub his calf against Ianto's leg and curl his foot behind Ianto's ankles and try to urge him closer. The thought brings an amused tilt to his smile as he leans forward and meets Jack in the middle, sliding their hands together. Jack tightens the grip of his relaxed fingers to grasp Ianto's hand in return. It's so simple, he wonders if Jack is aware of how it makes his chest ache with want.

They pick up their menus and peruse them languidly, they have all night, after all.

"I'm thinking about the chicken and mushroom pasta. How about you?" Jack asks conversationally. He always tries something new when they go out together. Ianto always steals a few bites.

"Would you believe it? I'm thinking of trying the fish," Ianto tells him, grinning wryly. If they come to this particular restaurant he always gets fish, he'd tried it the first time they came and it was so good he never could bring himself to get anything else.

"No," Jack gasps, grinning too, "finally stepping out of your comfort zone?" He teases.

"I know what I like," Ianto tells him, smirking in return.

Now, Jack is turning their hands over and looking at them as if he's examining how they fit together. Ianto follows his eyes and studies their hands. Jack's wide, and tan, and calloused from handling guns, Ianto's long-fingered and pale and steady from handing out mugs. He watches the way Jack's thumb plays over his knuckle, touch feather-light. They're just playing romantic, Ianto tries to remind himself.

"Well, you'd better get something green as one of those sides," Jack advises him, smiling sharply. Jack is well aware of his aversion to vegetables and always urges him to eat them at every chance he gets. The fact that Jack knows and notes these simple little things about him makes him feel so achingly fond.

The waiter comes and they place their orders, Jack gets water to drink and Ianto asks for wine. They don't let go of the other's hand like they might have when they first started going out on dates. Just playing romantic, he tries to tell himself as if Jack hasn't got his eyes trained only on him, looking like Ianto might be the only person in the universe. As if Jack's smile hasn't softened around the edges, becoming something so tender. As if they didn't have nights like these on the regular, nowadays.

But, things have changed now, haven't they? It's been months since the last, "end of the world," the horror that was the 456. Months since he'd watched Jack break once more. Months since he'd learned more about him than ever before. He knew Jack Harkness, and that was something he'd worked towards, something he wasn't planning to let slip from his grasp.

And Ianto was different now too. Rhiannon knew about them, not by his choice. But one of her friends had seen him in a place like this, seen the way he looked at Jack. She knew now. They weren't exactly how he had described it, because he never was so straight forward as to give anyone everything. Except for certain exceptions, people he was in so love with he could never hold it back.

But Ianto already knew how to appreciate men, just as well as women, but it wasn't any lie that Jack was so starkly different from any other person he'd ever met. Maybe subconsciously he'd been trying to tell her that. But it was the same with those little lies he told about his father, the sort of fantasy he'd rather be true. That Jack was the only man for him, some singular revelation, and that his father was a sharp-eyed tailor, instead of a drunken mechanic with a penchant for pushing too hard.

He and Rhiannon had never been especially close, but he still cared for her, she was his sister after all. And he was so fond of Mica and David, he'd always had a soft spot for kids, especially when he'd watched them grow up. Johnny, he'd rather not contemplate his opinion on, seeing as it wasn't particularly polite.

But now they knew him too, the last of his family actually had some idea of what he was. They now grasped the inclination that he was in love with this impossible man and he did impossible things every day. Rhiannon emailed him more often now, telling him how the kids were, and demanding visits, and stories, and explanations. And Ianto found he wasn't so annoyed with the more rapid interruptions to his life at Torchwood. These things that are shifting the tone of who he could be.

"Jack," he speaks seriously and its sort of intimidating that he's been watching Ianto this entire time. Those keen eyes of his, always intense in some way. Tonight, they are intently watching him, tracing over the shape of him as if Jack needed to drink him in. As if Jack didn't see him every single day.

"Hm?" The man hums, his face sobering instantly, he easily senses the tone change. But his thumb doesn't stop its minute movements over his knuckles and Ianto takes comfort in that fact as he inhales shaky breath.

"Jack, I know you, hate labels and when I..." he hesitates and stumbles over the words, "ask this kind of thing, so I—"

"Hey," Jack cuts him off, gently, "you're rambling," he points out. He knows its something Ianto only ever does when he's nervous and trying to compensate for something. "I'm not angry, just ask."

"Are you going to leave me?" Ianto blurts out at his prompting.

Something in Jack's eyes looks utterly heartbroken at the suggestion, but his face barely shifts.

But Ianto can't stop now that he's started, "Once something better comes along, will you just leave?" Like before, goes unspoken. "What would keep you here?"

"I told you," Jack starts speaking, his voice hard as steel and gaze lowered now. He hates having to repeat himself. "I came back for you," he informs him solidly, punctuating the sentence by meeting his eyes again with that piercing gaze.

"So this?" He says, brows raised and lifting their linked hands in demonstration, "lasts for as long as you want it to," his voice softens into a lower register, "as long as you'll have me." He leans forward now to press his lips to Ianto's knuckles.

"And how long would you have me, if you could choose?" The words seem to be rushing out of his mouth, unable to stop himself even when he knows the question is cruel to both of them.

Jack stares at him for an extended moment, silent and tense.

"Please tell me the truth," Ianto adds at a whisper, desperate to know even when he knows the answer will break his heart.

Jack just blinks at him for a moment and it's not until he speaks that Ianto realizes the shine in his eyes is that of unshed tears. "Forever," his voice breaks over the word.

Ianto can't breathe. Insanely, he wants to laugh, the idea that Jack Harkness wants to stay with him forever is ridiculous. But here the man is, close to tears and voice unsteady when Ianto has asked him for the truth. He surges forward, leaning across the table and catches his lips, putting every feeling he can't say into the kiss. It always has been their most effective form of communication.

It's awkward at this angle, with a table between them and Jack still in his seat. But he rises to meet Ianto and their hands are still clasped together and there's one of those big warm hands caressing his cheek now. Ianto feels the dampness of tears as his nose brushes Jack's cheek. He pulls back enough to look at his face, and lets go of Jack's hand to brush away the tears. his other hand braced against the table for balance.

"I would stay with you forever," Ianto murmurs in return, thumbing away tears.

Jack pulls away from him abruptly, dropping back down into his chair.

"But you can't," Jack points out to him, a bitter smile playing on his lips now. Ianto has nothing to counter that. He sits back down too then, warmth growing in his own eyes. He wonders how many people Jack would choose to spend forever with. He thinks, probably everyone he cares for, all those thousands and thousands of people he's met and loved. He would keep everyone close forever if he had the choice.

A wave of anger rises within Ianto suddenly, that Jack doesn't get an end. Jack doesn't get to live his life around who he chooses before letting go like everyone else. Jack has to just keep holding on. It's not fair.

Ianto holds out his hand for him again suddenly, "Jack," he says insistently when the man doesn't look up at the movement. He twitches his fingers expectantly, Jack gives him his hand but he doesn't look happy about it, staring Ianto down ruefully.

"Let's make the most of now, then?" Ianto suggested, keeping his tone deliberately light and meeting Jack's harsh stare head-on.

His gaze softens at that and slowly the corners of his mouth lift, "Let's," he agrees, voice still thick with emotion, but Jack is relaxing once more. They have right now, Ianto is going to make sure that matters.

[alicedoessurveys]

Doctor Who Tag

yes im a nerd...

CHILDHOOD

1. Did you like DW as a child?

I was 10 when it came back on telly with Eccleston and the first episode with the autons scared me so much my mom wouldn't let me watch it again until a couple years later, but yeah my teens I was obsessed with DW... still am at age 25

2. Your age at the time of the revival?

10

3. First DW episode you ever saw?

‘Rose’

4. Did you have any of the toys?

I still have the eleventh doctor’s screwdriver... I used to have some of the figures but there in storage now somewhere

5. Which DW character did you play on the playground?

didn't play it on the playground

6. Monster(s) that scared you most as a child?

all of them! the ones that still scare me now are the Cybermen and the Autons... genuinely cant walk past a shop mannequin without being suspicious 

7. Joke/story you didn’t get as a kid?

as a kid, any of the innuendo type jokes

8. DW opinion that has changed since you were a kid?

idk I think I still have the same opinions

9. Who introduced you to DW?

parents

10. Did you like Sarah Jane Adventures as a child?

I LOVED SJA!! I miss that show, and Elizabeth Slade :(

DOCTOR

11. Who is your Doctor?

Ten was the doctor that made me fall in love with Doctor Who 

12. Your favourite Doctor?

omg why not just ask me who my favourite child is... (I don't have kids but you know what I mean) if I had to chose my top three are ten, eleven and thirteen

13. Least favourite Doctor?

purely just because he doesn't have enough episodes... nine...

14. Best regeneration?

none of them I hate regenerations :( they make me sad, im too emotionally invested in every single one

15. Do you like “Doctor-Lite” episodes?

they're not my faves

16. Who is the most human Doctor?

I think nine maybe? or twelve?

17. Best multi-Doctor story?

the 50th anniversary special 

18. Best Doctor monologue?

“Hello Stonehenge! who takes the pandorica, takes the universe. but bad news everyone, cause guess who? HA! You lot you're all whizzing about- its really very distracting. Could you all just stay still a minute because I AM TALKING. Question of the hour is, who's got the pandorica? Answer, I do. Next question, who's coming to take it from me? Come on, look at me! No plan. No backup. No weapons worth a damn. oh and something else, I don't have anything to lose. So, if you're sitting up there in your silly little spaceship with all your silly little guns and you've got any plans on taking the pandorica tonight... just remember who's standing in your way. remember ever black day I ever stopped you and then- AND THEN- do the smart thing... let somebody else try first.”

not copied and pasted, remember that from the top of my head... its always there waiting in my mind incase I ever need an epic monologue :’)

19, What do you think TenToo/MetaCrisis Doctor is doing now?

hopefully living his best life with Rose

20. Best Doctor/companion pairing?

ten and donna 

COMPANIONS

21. Favourite companion?

Donna, Clara, Amy

22. Favourite secondary companion?

is Mickey classed as secondary? idk

23. Least favourite companion?

Ryan

24. Best TARDIS Team?

Doctor, Amy and Rory

25. Most underrated companion?

Graham, but that may just be cause I love Bradders

26. Most overrated companion?

Rose... I like her but idk, I think she gets more hype than she deserves.. don't @ me

27. Favourite companion’s family?

Rose’s mom

28. Who should have been a companion but wasn’t?

idk I cant think of anyone

29. Favourite (canon or non-canon) DW universe relationship?

Amy and Rory

30. Who did you not used to like, but really like now?

wasn't keen on Bill at first but by the end I really liked her, same with Rory

EPISODES

31. Favourite episode ever?

girl in the fireplace

32. Least favourite episode?

most of Chibnall’s episodes tbh sorry not sorry 

33. Which episodes do you skip?

the regeneration episodes

34. Best two-parter?

Human Nature - Family of Blood

35. Historical, present day or futuristic episodes?

I like them all in there own way but I think present is fave, then historical, then future

36. Episode that will always make you smile?

all of them

37. Episode that will always make you cry?

Rory and Amy’s last episode :’(

38. Best run of episodes?

ugh I cant answer this theres too many 

39. Best cliffhanger?

the end of Spyfall part one when the Master reveals who he is... I was SHOOK

40. Favourite Christmas special?

Voyage of the Damned

SERIES

41. Classic Who or New Who?

new who

42. Favourite series?

four or five

43. Least favourite series?

eleven, I just cant with the writing

44. Which series do you skip?

none

45. Favourite series opening?

eleventh hour

46. Favourite series finale?

Doomsday

47. Best series arc?

Bad Wolf

48. Thoughts on series 11/12?

I adore Jodie Whittaker and her doctor, and although I think 3 companions is too many I do love Yaz and Graham (Ryan is hit & miss). I just think theyve been massively let down by the stories/writing... they’ve tried to hard to tick certain boxes and completely missed what Doctor Who is about for a lot of people.. an escape from the real world into these outrageous unbelievable but lovable fun alien adventures 

49. How much of Classic Who have you seen?

not a lot

50. Who should have had another series?

NINE NINE NINE NINE NINE 

MONSTERS

51. Favourite monster/villain?

the master 

52. Most creative monster?

Weeping Angels, whoever came up with monsters that look like statues and only move when you're not looking at them is genius 

53. Monster(s) that scares you most?

Autons, Cybermen, the creepy dolls from Night Terrors, the ones from Waters of Mars, Weeping Angels

54. Monster you think is too easy to defeat?

idk

55. Least favourite monster/villain?

absorbaloff

56. Monster you want to return?

The Master, I really hope that isn't the last we see of Dhawan

57. In your opinion, what makes a monster good?

being genuinely scary, 

58. Daleks, Cybermen or Weeping Angels?

Weeping Angels

59. Best Dalek story?

Daleks in Manhatten

60. Best one time villain/monster?

my brain has gone blank I cant think of an answer right now 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

61. Torchwood or Sarah Jane Adventures?

SJA

62. Favourite Torchwood Team member?

I haven't watched it all so I couldn't say 

63. Which Torchwood death made you saddest?

again, not watched it all 

64. Do you rewatch COE or MD?

huh

65. Favourite SJA Team member?

Sarah Jane

66. Mr Smith or K-9?

K-9

67. Maria or Rani?

Rani

68. Do you read the comics/novels or listen to Big Finish?

Nope

69. If you do, your favourite additional stories?

n/a

70. Do you like DW analysis (video essays, fan theories, etc)?

yes

DESIGN/PRODUCTION

71. Favourite piece of alien tech?

the sonic, I love how it is so multipurpose except for when it comes to wood 

72. Favourite piece of Murray Gold music?

I am the Doctor - gets me pumped every time 

73. Favourite TARDIS design?

Ten’s Tardis 

74. Has the 2005 era CGI aged well?

actually yeah, I was rewatching the ‘are you my mummy’ episodes the other day and my God when the gas masks emerged from the faces... ooooooof I was like omg how 

75. Favourite Doctor outfit?

eleven or thirteen

76. Monster with the best design?

not really a design more of a costume.. I live Dhawan master’s costume. that shade of purple, oof he so stylish 

77. Best show runner?

idk

78. Best writer?

Gatiss

79. Best opening titles?

eleven’s titles where the Tardis is flying and being zapped is cool but thirteens music hits different 

80. Will DW age well/stay popular in the future?

I hope so, I feel like its lasted this long surely it can last forever.. if the writers don't fuck it up... 

IF YOU WERE IN THE SHOW

81. Time period you’d want to go with the Doctor?

whatever time means Id get to wear the most beautiful costumes

82. Planet/place you’d want to go with the Doctor?

Galifrey, pre-desctruction

83. Doctor you’d most like to travel with?

any of them, please and thank you

84. Companion you’d most like to travel with?

donna, sceso a good laugh but also I feel like she’d look after me 

85. Monster you’d like to defeat/fight?

The Master 

86. If you could go back on your own history (like Father’s Day), where would you go?

back to when I was a toddler, I wanna see what I was like 

87. If you could ask the Doctor anything, what would you ask?

theres too many to ask 

88. Historical figure you’d like to meet?

Shakespeare

89. How do you think you’d meet the Doctor?

id probably be rescued from doing something stupid and then the doc would be like you know what the bitch clearly needs supervision she's coming with me 

90. Would you travel forwards or backwards in time first?

backwards

IF YOU MADE THE SHOW

91. Historical event would you like to see in DW?

Hamilton

92. Issue you’d like to see addressed in DW?

idk 

93. Who would you completely erase from the DW universe?

Ruth

94. One unanswered DW question you’d love to know the answer to?

where is Clara now?

95. Actor/actress you’d like to see play the Doctor?

Phoebe Waller Bridge (or Lin Manuel Miranda)

96. Actor/actress you’d like to see play a companion?

Andrew Scott (yes I did just basically recast fleabag and hot priest)

97. Is DW “too political”?

series 11 got a bit like that 

98. Which characters fate would you changed?

Danny Pink

99. What about DW could be improved?

I think ive made my options about Chibnall pretty clear... 

100. If you could write an episode of DW, any ideas for what you’d do

bring back Jenny, the Doctor / Daughter adventures they would have. I’m actually writing a fic about it if you wanna read.... here

[tonystarktogo]

Not sure if it counts as a rare pair but here’s some Tony/Rhodey for @thunder-the-wolf and @tony-stark-is-bae

“Tony,” Rhodey says very, very slowly and tries to rub some energy back into his eyes. “You want to explain this?”

“Hmm?” Tony looks up from where he’s kneeling on the floor, peering under thee couch. That in itself is concerning because where Tony peers with that level of interest, something alive tends to look back. Rhodey’s learned that lesson the hard way.

He looks adorable like that, staring up at Rhodey through his eyelashes, two feathers stuck in his hair that’s just starting to dry and curls around the tips. Rhodey wishes he were in a state of mind to properly enjoy it. Alas-

“Tony,” he repeats and despite his best effort, his voice tightens audibly. “Explain. Now. Please.”

“Sorry.” Tony shakes his head.

Usually Rhodey doesn’t mind the way Tony tends to just get lost in the middle of a conversation (or at the start or near the end of one, though when it happens right before his boyfriend gets to the point of a story it can be frustrating). Sometimes it’s because he’s just thought of a way to simplify the latest bout of code he’s put into DUM-E. Sometimes it’s because he’s figured out a way to improve a targeting algorithm by 5%. Sometimes it’s because he gets distracted by the sound of his own humming.

“Right,” Tony nods, all business like. That’s never a good sign. Rhodey would like to sit down -- this seems like the sort of talk where he should be sitting -- but he’s still of half a mind to sprint out of the apartment or call the police, so he stays where he is. “Remember last week when we’ve talked about both of us having our own lives outside this relationship and how we make independent decisions and that’s okay so long as we don’t speak for the other?”

Oh, Rhodey should definitely sit down for this conversation. “That was in reference to the-” He breaks off when Tony gets that look on his face again -- the one where he thinks that he’s done something wrong and Rhodey hates that expression, hates putting it there, especially when he isn’t sure yet what exactly it is Tony has done.

So instead he takes a deep breath. Tries again.

“Yes, I remember,” Rhodey says because he’s got this adult thing down to a T. “But can you please catch me up on how this conversation has lead to the strange guy over there with the knife who is apparently wearing my clothes taking over our loveseat and eating what appears to be the last piece of my mum’s raspberry pie?”

There. That sounds like a calm, rational question.

Tony shifts, but he’s looking nervous now instead of apologetic. Which is good. Except for the part where he’s nervous regarding the stranger with a knife in their home.

“That’s my friend, Loki. You know, like the Norse god? Well, his parents kicked him out and he really needs a place to stay and so I sort of offered him--” Tony makes a vague gesture that could encompass everything from Rhodey’s clothes to their loveseat to Tony’s liver.

“Our kitchen knife?” Rhodey jokes weakly.

“Ah no. He brought that himself.”

O-kay then.

Granted, this isn’t the first time that Tony has opened their flat -- their tiny flat -- to a stranger. Nor is it the first time said stranger looked at Rhodey with dissecting eyes while twirling a knife between his fingers (thanks, Romanoff), so Rhodey supposes he can cut Loki some slack.

“Anything you’d like to add to that?” Rhodey turns to the man, Loki, who may or may not become the main suspect in his murder case.

Loki raises his eyebrows as though surprised to be addressed. “Your mother’s pie is delicious,” he offers after a moment.

Rhodey snorts. He can’t help it. He also doesn’t know what to say in response to that.

“I don’t really want to know what’s under the couch, do I?” he asks because Tony still hasn’t gotten up to so much as hug him, and if that’s not a red flag, nothing is. Tony loves hugs.

The guilty look speaks for itself.

“If he-” Rhodey stabs a finger in Loki’s direction, “murders us in our sleep, I’m going to haunt you in the afterlife.”

“Awww,” Tony coes, although there’s no hiding that pleased smile of his. “I love you too, Rhodey.”

“You better,” murmurs Rhodey, presses a kiss into his boyfriend’s soft hair that smells suspiciously like his favorite shampoo and stumbles into their tiny shared bedroom.

“I believe I like your boyfriend,” Loki murmurs but the walls are ridiculously thin and privacy non-existent. “Much better than the last one.”

“He is,” Tony, the ridiculous sweetheart, agrees wholeheartedly. “He really, really is.”

Rhodey falls asleep with a dumb smile on his face. Maybe if he hadn’t been dead on his feet and way too in love with his boyfriend and way, way too used to the madness that was Tony Stark’s life, he would have asked more questions and voiced more concerns. And remembered who exactly Loki Odison is.

Oh well. Knowing Tony, the true concern is whatever is living under their couch. God, he loves that dork.

[bloodwynes]

Any guys you would make an exception for? And for any reason, like a threesome?

“Don’t really know any guys yet id do that exception for, gotta be someone that I have some trust with. Maybe puppy dude Coe would be good, he is kind of adorable in a way and he seems like the kind that behaves. And I wouldn’t necessarily do it in a threesome, just the two of us would be fine I guess. I dunno, I haven’t exactly given it much thought. It’s one of those things I’d try once and probably not do again. Like humans with skydiving or some shit.”

“But if we were doing a threesome, it needs to be with another girl. Already know a bunch of girls that would be cool in that scenario. @daisyxlynch @romyxrhodes @scarlettxmcknight @lilyxdonovan .”

@justxtryxme

[bitsygirl9]

Review Torchwood: S2 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

I wrote this ages ago when I was still heavily into Torchwood. It’s a review for the opening episode of s2 ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ so I figured I’d put it up here because why not? 

(Also currently listening to Jenny Lewis ‘You are what you love’)

So Jack tells Ianto that he came back for him (sort of). Ianto is so swayed by this meaningful moment he responds by completely blanking Jack when he suggests they do it on the photo-copier (or something). Jack is so surprised by this because, apparently, this routine is usually fool-proof, even if you just came back from buggering off to be with another man without so much as a 'see ya' note and can't believe Ianto isn't responding accordingly. Realising that his 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours’ routine probably isn't going to cut it this time he decides to ask him out on a date. (That's what they still do in the 21st century, right?) lol. JB's surprise face is hilarious in this scene when Ianto isn't having any of it and it shows up three times in this ep. When he finds out about Gwen's engagement and once with John.

So, yep, a bit late and I still haven't finished s1, but I'm going to try and rewatch s2. So Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang. So this is a cheesy, cheesy, like supersized cheesy episode and some of the dialogue is a bit terrible, but there are some interesting character moments particularly between Jack and John. Well, their cheesier moments make me cringe quite a bit, but their more serious moments are interesting and mostly more effective to me. I get that Jack is supposed to be conflicted about John or something, but he's really the master of mixed messages. And also non-sequiturs.

Best Moment: Don't really have one so I'll just go with Ianto eye-rolling at Hart's comments in the boardroom scene just because that made me laugh out loud. Also lol at the coked-up, family hostage-taking blowfish stopping for the light. Still got to respect that road code even if you're an amoral, druggie criminal type, I guess.

Worst Moment: Don't exactly have one of those either, but I'll go with the 'See how Gwen is in charge scene' at the beginning. Honestly, they sell Owen taking charge in the earlier car chase scene better than they do Gwen. This scene is so awkward and self-conscious like even the writers don't buy what they were trying to sell. I guess that's why Gwen needs to remind us a few times that she was in charge. Lol. Does Tosh really need to be told to update the database and Ianto to take the dead body Owen's finished with to the Morgue? Lol. These are all pretty routine aspects of their job, surely. They don't really need Gwen for that. If you need to dumb down other characters to sell the abilities of another character I suspect you're doing it wrong. Also if the point is to show that the team missed Jack, but still managed to function without him then maybe having him have to come to their rescue once again probably isn't the way to go. So cool entrance and some pretty awkward meta via blowfish to get the newbies up to speed, but way to undermine the idea that this is an effective team once again. Also, if Ianto is supposed to be the least effective field member why exactly is he taking point? Just so newbies get that he's the least effective field member? lol I get that they are a man is down, but surely dealing with the immediate threat should be a priority.

WTF moments: It's Torchwood so yeah. Are they ignoring The Empty Child's existence? In that we're told Jack is bitter about the Time Agency because they stole 2 years of his memory and that's why he left and is even happy to con them. Granted a lot of time has passed since that moment, but time doesn't seem to have much of an effect on Jack's memories so should he really come off as that nostalgic about them? Kind of a weird moment.

Also, does Jack have to have a problem using his words all the time? Maybe the show wants it to ambiguous about Jack warning Gwen not to let John kiss her so we wonder if he's jealous for a while or are surprised by the real reason or something, but it kind of makes Jack look like a bit of a moron that he doesn't just tell her that Hart's likely wearing some sort of poisonous gloss and that's why she should be careful about him kissing her and not simply because he's just that kind of letch. Also, Gwen is probably the most likely to fall for an easy sob story so I'm not sure I buy her argument that she's the best one to get info out of John lol.

Also shouldn't Jack be aware that John's wrist strap can likely jam signals and so have anticipated that? Of course, it could be a new model or modulation on John's part, but it seems like it should be pretty rudimentary considering how much more technologically advanced they're supposed to be.

Are we supposed to assume John knew where Jack was for a while, but was just looking for an excuse to show up on his doorstep?

Also, he tells Gwen specifically that Jack will never stay. Is he supposed to be referring to her specifically? Are we to assume Hart is jealous of Gwen because he immediately just gets how Jack feels about her or something? Like the nostrovite in SB. Any thoughts?

Also, is it just me or were those canisters not well hidden at all? I get that it was a trap, but unless they'd only just been put there anyone could have just picked one of them up and wondered off with them lol.

In EOD Rhys is murdered and Gwen is supposedly so devastated, unwilling to live with this loss she's willing to destroy the world to get him back. I don't know what the time-line is supposed to be, but are we to assume this event had such an emotional impact on her that the only person she cares enough about to remember is Jack when she's about to die and that she's still in just give me the signal and it'll be 'Rhys, who' mode? So what was the point of all that again?

Is Owen supposed to be coming on to Tosh in their scene in the lock-up? I would say yes, but I've seen Meat. So um. Ok. It feels like he's feeling out a potential relationship with her, but are we also supposed to seriously believe by this point that Owen still doesn't get that Tosh fancies him? Her innuendo asking if he needed a hand 'getting it up' in Countrycide too subtle for him?

Gwen's comment that she tells Jack everything and he tells her nothing. Did they basically just then turn around and recycle this moment for Ianto's use in ep 4 of COE? Or should I give the writers more credit and believe they're aiming for something much deeper i.e despite living all this time and with all these experiences Jack really doesn't change his tune all that much. It's still the same old music. Because it does kind of feel like that in this episode anyway.

Anything New: Not really. I mean the special effects are cheesier than I remember.

Religious/Literary: Well there's the whole life is meaningless, there is nothing routine. Does that count? Which follows on to:

Humanity: Good or Bad: Apparently we're all just a bunch of sad sacks with nothing to look forward to except death. Is it because the writers are all at or close to middle-age or something because, gees, these people are slit-wrists inducingly miserable about life. lol. And there are still 12 more episodes to go. Where's the Prozac?

Anything Else:  I guess Ianto and stopwatches is a thing. He's more excited by that than he is by Jack asking him out lol.