#i literally do need to watch torchwood again | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nvzblgrrl · 1 year

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Every time I see Moffat and Chibnall hate that goes on about 'pointless characters without an arc only there for a joke', 'only knows how to write one kind of woman', 'kills off characters for shock value', 'uses Ex Deus Machinas to resolve their poorly thought out plots', 'did their best at ruining the show', and other shit like that rooted in 'well, I didn't watch it but someone else told me it was like that' and 'I just watched enough to make a bad faith reading', I would like everyone to be reminded that, unlike all of the other Revival Showrunners, RTD did all of that and more for real.

(Beneath the cut: complaining, specific examples, talk of sexual misconduct, talk of non-sexual misconduct)

Ah, like how Jack Harkness's main thing is 'hits on everyone'. How Mickey's entire presence in any given story is mostly there to make the Doctor look better or be the chew toy for any given joke/misfortune.

Or how there's actually exactly two flavors of women - 'young one that's unhappy with her boring Earth life which only the Doctor can fix because Not Loving The Doctor Means You're Wrong' and 'Horrible Mother Who Hates Everything You Do'.

Or maybe it's the fact that Rose had a fake-out death (dead but not really), Donna had a 'well might as well be death' memory wipe (character development dead), and only a schedule conflict with Freema kept Martha from getting actually killed off in Torchwood. 'Well that wasn't Proper Death so it doesn't count' (misinformative, found out over half a year after this post and had believed it for almost 2 years before disproven) - you see me pointing at Clara and Bill then? Or even Amy and Rory, who literally had full lives off-screen. As for Ex Deus Machinas, let's see... literally Bad Wolf, literally Tinker Belle Jesus Doctor, magic revival ritual to bring the Master back when he was needed again for drama, weird prophecy thing between the Doctor and the Master that was only relevant for like half an episode... And let's not forget moments like 'hey we're about to hand off to the next Doctor, let's make Ten's last line infinitely wankable to the point where every Doctor after has to make an acceptance of Death speech/story because the fandom behaved Just That Badly over four words.' (and then y'all have the audacity to complain about the speeches.)

Oh and this is before we even get to the real life behind the scenes stuff. Like how all the sex misconduct tied to the revival only seem to have manifested around people who were on the RTD 1.0 run. I mean, seriously, I see people passing around some of John Barrowman's 'adventures in workplace sexual harassment' as cute little things instead of creeptacular behavior that should have been addressed first off instead of 'eh, so what? It's just a surprise penis, he thinks it's funny'. Not to mention that Noel Clark was also doing the same things and made a point of trying to ruin one of his victims' career after she refused his advances.

And I doubt that this covers other accounts of mistreatment of workers behind the camera. Or was it not supposed to be telling that, of all the Doctors that won't come back for whatever reason, Christopher Eccleston is the only one that has cited the work environment and three people - not one, not two, THREE - at the top of said-environment as the reason rather than more mundane concerns like other career opportunities or not distracting from other Doctors?

Or that after he decided not to continue as the Doctor, a false quote from him was presented as part of a press release, claiming that he was 'afraid of being typecast' and 'tired from the grueling filming schedule', which they then had to retract because of, y'know, being lies that would have definitely impacted Chris's career if they'd gone unaddressed.

And then somebody had the brilliant idea to make one of 10's first actions as the Doctor being ruining someone's career by asking someone if she looked tired. Yeah, definitely the actions of a Good And Saintly Showrunner That Can Do No Wrong. 'But,' you might say, 'it's been years since then! Maybe RTD made some mistakes, but he'll do better now -'

Are you sure about that? Are you absolutely sure? Because I at least have evidence here, unlike to the self-propagating, bad-faith reading sustained Moffat/Chibnall Hate Parades.

#anti rtd #rtd hate #my frustration with this fandom is unending and undying and it reached a peak watching someone literally say #'RTD wouldn't have written a joke like this' when RTD absolutely did write that joke multiple times in canon on screen directly #RTD 2.0 isn't something I've got absolute confidence in but I am almost certain it'll shut up the worst fans #so the next showrunner after him has a chance at getting a fairer shake #vaguing venting with nvz

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irregularjohnnywiggins · 2 years

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So, because I'm in a Doctor Who mood at the moment and you all willingly followed me, here's one of my favourites in the ongoing saga of 'Doctor Who continuity does not matter, except when it does':

In the 1996 Movie, the Doctor opens the film describing the Master being put on trial on Skaro and summarily executed by presumably the Daleks, and for the next 26 years fans have been confused about that plot point, although I will note with amusement that they're not confused about how exactly Skaro is back when the last time we saw it the Doctor tricked the Daleks into blowing it up.

No, the main thing that threw people about this line is that... the Daleks have a legal system? The literal embodiments of fascism and ethnic cleansing have a concept of 'innocent until proven guilty'? The routine manipulators and masters of deception, who in every story they appear in working alongside someone else inevitabily kill them as soon as they get the opportunity have a concept of perjury? When I say fans have been confused about that plot point for 26 years, I'm not kidding - I still occasionally see someone edit a Dalek into a judge's robes and wig, or an Ace Attorney case, and whilst that may simply be the immortal and unfailingly funny joke of Daleks doing anything aside from ethnic cleansing, I can't help but feel like it's also a reference to this.

However, I have good news for you all: this plot point is actually explained, and in a really cool way to boot, in the 2006 Big Finish Audio Drama I, Davros. See, the framing device of that series is Davros conveying his backstory to the Daleks, for this stated purpose:

Dalek: YOU ARE ON TRIAL.

Davros: And I am to recognise the authority of this "court"? Daleks holding a trial... how low have you sunk without me? ... For what crimes am I accused?

Dalek: NO CRIMES.

Davros: Then what am I on trial for?

Dalek: YOU ARE ON TRIAL!

Davros: I say again, what- Ah... I see. Not a trial. I feel like secondhand goods. I cannot be returned if you consider me faulty!

It's never explicitly stated, in this piece of EU or any other to my knowledge, but I do like the idea of the Daleks trying out the Master to see if he'd be able to help them, and coming to the conclusion that the Master is way too unstable an ally to trust him - especially because, this being at the end of Seven's time and the beginning of Eight, we're barely a few centuries away from the Time War, where the Time Lords will actually resurrect the Master specifically to fight for them, and I just really like the idea of the Daleks being more savvy of what the Master is than the Time Lords.

It's also a great example of what I mean when I say 'Doctor Who continuity does not matter, except when it does': Doctor Who is a massive endeavour, it would take 18 straight days without sleep or breaks to just watch the tv show, let alone all the supplementary stuff like Torchwood or SJA or Big Finish, but the series is built so that its really easy to get into it - pick a starting point (a Doctor, a companion, hell watch all the Dalek episodes and nothing else if you want) and you're off, and you don't need to worry about continuity the way you would for, say, your average comic. But at the same time it is really fun to get into the lore, and debate and argue about stuff like the Daleks holding a trial or the Timeless Child vs the crying boy in the barn or hell even what the hell all the plot holes and inconsistencies mean in a Watsonian sense. Doctor Who is one of those experiences where you get in what you get out, and I love it for that.

#doctor who #daleks #eighth doctor #paul mcgann #i davros #davros

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horselover107 · 1 year

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It’s been 24 hours and I’m still thinking about one particular bad post.

No Torchwood is not “copaganda” and no it’s not narratively punishing them for bisexuality Jesus ducking Christ.

On the first point. For Fuck’s sake watch up to season 3. There’s literally a scene where a cop takes off his vest and fights with lower/working class people against the government because at that moment he wants no association with the orders he was given anymore (they do flub his character arc by making him rejoin the force in s4 and in the audios, but also miracle day is…a beast of its own. For simplicity sake we’re looking at the first two seasons plus children of earth as those are the three seasons that had most of the same creative team). The villain of season 3 is literally the corrupt UK and world governments, it is literally textually about how the government would be willing to sacrifice children in a trolley problem scenario specifically because they’re poor. We are on the side of the families of the kids here. Jacks past “just following orders” and utilitarianism is treated as BAD. Something he needs to atone for.

Even if we change the parameters to just season one and two? Yes it’s a procedural but they never stop talking about how they’re “outside the police”. Torchwood as an institution is criticized for not stopping to think about the “little” people hurt along the way. Gwen has a specific skill set (good investigative instincts) because she’s an ex cop, yes. But the key here is the “ex” part, she’s left the police. She’s not a part of that system anymore.

I mean I guess there’s Jack’s whole “I’m really good at torture” brag and all the guns? But at the same time UNIT holding Toshiko without trial was a pretty strong critique of practices like that for something only six years off of 9/11. UNIT not giving her a trial and treating her as a terrorist without rights is again, treated as a bad thing. Children of Earth’s anti-government stance is still pretty radical by 2023 standards

As for the second point. Jesus Christ ok? This show was created by a queer man. “Historical context” (it pains me to call the 2000s historical but here we are) matters. And it was absolutely ground breaking for its queer rep at the time. Buffy, which RTD is pretty open about taking notes from, was forced to make their gay couple incredibly chaste and subtle on the onset. Not to reignite like 15 years of fandom discourse but RTD did not set out to punish these characters for being gay. He did it because he’s an edgelord that gets bored and defaults to “ok now let’s just kill the cast”. Important distinction

Point the third: ok jokes about RTD’s worst writing habits aside, yes this show is about how humanity is flawed. People make fucked up decisions. Not everyone can be saved. That’s kind of…spelled out multiple times. It’s not because these characters happen to bisexual it’s because theyre human. Jack is trying but this is fundamentally a story about what happens when the doctor isn’t there to swoop in and fix everything for us. It’s messy. People get hurt. Sometimes there’s no easy out.

And finally listen I know this show is also a camp mess the other half of the time, but for fuck’s sake if you’re going to make sweeping generalizations watch past mid season one. That’s kind of important. Watch past just the first season.

#torchwood #it’s late and I’m salty

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witchofthemidlands · 1 year

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probably the laziest thing i am about to do but because i literally cannot bring myself to watch the end of reset ever again & my mind just blocks a lot of it out but i quite literally need knowledge on that scene for a fix it fanfiction i am composing. please, my fellow torchwood fans, i am sorry to bother you all but did they kill the bloody moron who murdered owen?

#id just go ahead & have timepetals daughter commit her first murder but i don't want it to be over the top if they didn't kill him in canon #sorry to bother you all #i just can't watch it again i can't do it #i know he's semi alright in the next episode but STILL #fourteen year old me was bloody traumatised #owen harper #reset #oh god owen 😭#torchwood #whoniverse #fic help #kat’s thoughts 🍄#mutuals

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whovianwatchingstartrek · 6 months

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A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 075 - Saving the Earth

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 3 Episode 24 - Zero Hour

Time to wrap up Season 3, and the chase to reach the weapon, before it reaches earth is on!

Seeing Hoshi in this state of self guilt and not sure who she's talking to hurts, I don't like that archer is pushing her like this. She needs time to recover, especially in regards to him wanting to bring her onto the sphere with the strike team.

After that discussion, Archer gets time jumped into the future by Daniels, again. This time 7 years into Archer's personal future, to the founding of the Federation that Daniels keeps drip feeding us about. However, Daniels is unable to convince archer to change his mind about anything.

Hoshi, even in her current state, has made good progress, but unfortunately the reptilian ship has drifted from the Weapon. The reptilian ship attacks and destroys one of Earth's research satellites, with around 40 civilian targets on board. I get that that's tragic and all, but Archer literally did something similar to a Xindi research station less than 5 ago, he has very little room to be sad about this.

The reptilians prepare to open fire on Degra's ship, but thankfully the Andorians arrive in the nick of time to take care of things. My man, Shran is the MVP, Archer owes him indeed. Shran's appearance gives the crew a chance to get onto the weapon and start disabling it. The final fistfight between Archer and Dolim was also amazingly brutal. Archer, however doesn't make it out.

Meanwhile, Enterprise is going down into a spacial anomaly to attack one of the key spheres and knock out the Sphere network. The anomoly is wrecking the same cellular decay on the crew that the test subject was undergoing. Then, the Sphere builders board Enterprise and start tearing it apart. Luckily they take down the sphere and all the others with it.

After the fighting, while Enterprise awaits to rendezvous with the other team, we get just a little bit of flirting between T'Pol and Trip, which was nice to see.

We only really get to see T'Pol and Phlox's reactions to loosing archer, not even the team who he was with on Degra's ship. Everyone's reactions to seeing Earth again was beautiful, however everything is short lived, because no broadcasts have been coming from Earth or the Moon. Something is wrong. When a shuttle touches down, weapons start opening fire, and they're not from Enterprise's era. We've gone back in time to World War Two, Archer has been left in Nazi hands, and there's an alien commanding these Nazis, and that's the cliffhanger we're left on. Bit of a bombshell to end the season on.

The action in this episode was excellent, both the battle on the weapon and the battle on Enterprise. This Season finale was really good, but I'm happy we're finished with this whole Xindi arc. As much as I've loved the side episodes here, this seasons arc has not been it for me. I'm really interested to see where the series goes now that Archer and Enterprise are Stranded in World War 2. Also seeing Shran again was a highlight.

Comparing my Enjoyment of this Episode with a Doctor Who Universe Story of the Same Title

Torchwood: Aliens Among Us - Episode 7 - Zero Hour

Yep, Spin Off of a Spin Off. In 2017 Big Finish used it's licence to make Doctor Who Universe Radio Drama to start Torchwood: Aliens Among Us, a continuation. They had already done a few audio dramas set after Torchwood: Miracle Day, but Aliens Among Us was marketed as a true Season 5 of Torchwood, despite the change of Media and replacing the various members of the cast that died throughout the show.

On the whole, I do like the Torchwood Continued saga, it does fall into a lot of the same pitfalls as the actual Torchwood series does, but that's definitely by design in recapturing the show's vibes, and the series is genuinely well written. Aliens Among Us is wonderful. It's cast is in some ways even better than the Original Torchwood team.

But this segment is about it's 7th Episode, Zero Hour. Zero Hour is focus story for Tyler Steele, one of the new additions to the cast that Aliens Among Us throws in. The episode also takes on a sort of allegory for how companies such as Deliveroo and Uber exploit their workers, and does it wonderfully. The Suspense behind exactly what Deliverables is, is built wonderfully. Hasan as a guest character is so well written, and the budding relationship between him and Tyler was really good. It's a shame the faceless corporate entity incinerated, fired in the most literal sense, him the moment he "qualified for basic workers rights".

I enjoyed both Zero Hours, but Torchwood's Zero Hour won out for me. As good as the Action in Enterprise's Zero Hour was, Torchwood's felt like it actually had something to say. Sci-Fi always works best when it's allegorical for real world issues, and Torchwood Zero Hour was an amazing example for that.

#whovian watching star trek #star trek #star trek enterprise #star trek ent #star trek: enterprise #enterprise #ent

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doctorwho-rewatch · 9 months

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S1/2 Special - The Christmas Invasion

★★★★☆

Nine’s body has barely gone cold and we’re facing another alien invasion! Exoskeletal pirates wanting to commit genocide by blood type (thank goodness I’d’ve been safe - O- for the win!), tornado Christmas trees and Harriet Jones trying to calm the nation. Whew, sounds like we need the Doctor again...

...and he’s snugly asleep for 2/3 of the episode.

I can’t tell whether I liked that or not, but still mourning the end of Nine, I think it actually works well to keep the focus on Rose and Mickey instead of shoving the new fresh faced Tenth Doctor in our face.

He of course emerges at the end (after a revitalising cup of tea) and he comes in swinging. Dressed in jammies, sword fighting, casually re-growing body parts and quoting The Lion King. It is so much fun to see and we know right from the start, Ten is going to be a very different Doctor.

We’re really starting right at the beginning of this incarnation, watching him pick out his fit, figuring out how he moves in this body and how his mind and mouth work (like a runaway train, it turns out) and I think that was great. We didn’t get that with Nine.

And with every new Doctor, we’re curious to know just what kind of Doctor Ten is going to be. He was prepared to spare the Sycorax leader’s life until he tried to kill him. No second chances. But when Harriet Jones PM orders Torchwood to blow up the Sycorax spaceship, after the Doctor sent it on their merry way, he is furious. Contradictory? It’ll be interesting to see how his sense of right and justice develops throughout the series.

This was a fabulous pre-start to the second series, and it is one of the more stronger Christmas Specials. With Rose no longer freaked out by the new face and ready to go on more adventures (turning down Mickey again for the umpteenth time - get a hobby, my brother), the second series promises more insanity and excitement.

QUOTE: “ I’m the Doctor. But beyond that I just don’t know. I literally do not know who I am. It’s all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy? Right old misery? Life and soul? Right-handed, left-handed? A gambler, a fighter, a coward, a traitor, a liar, a nervous wreck? I mean judging by the evidence I’ve certainly got a gob.”

#doctor who #tenth doctor #rose tyler #nuwho #sycorax #harriet jones #bbc #david tennant #billie piper #10th doctor #christmas special

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thetimelordbatgirl · 11 months

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What are your favorite aliens from the Whoniverse? I honestly think the best ones from modern doctor who came from the 9-10th doctor era. After that, I can’t really think of any other iconic ones other than the Silence. I appreciate the modern versions of the Zygons and Sea Devils too. Super excited for Beep the Meep.

Ooh, hmm...if we including Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood too...Slitheen definitely near the top of my favorites, as sure, they do devolve a lil from their appearence in Doctor Who when they move over to reguarly appearing in Sarah Jane Adventures, since kids show, but just, they are a pretty good mixture of sillyiness (the farting thing does take a bit to get used to I will admit) but also threatening, especially when you see they literally skin native's on the planets they trying to get shit from, and that includes literally children in Sarah Jane Adventures. And sticking with Sarah Jane Adventures (sorry, I am mentally unwell about this show lol), the Bane were a pretty good species idea. Like yeah, they do kinda have the whole hunting thing like most alien species in the whoiverse, but at the same time, they are pretty terrifying in their first appearence, and Mrs. Wormwood is a pretty good villain character, hers and Sarah's bitch fights being pretty funny to rewatch. And another favorite from SJA is the Xylok, because the idea of an alien species who only have one purpose and once you take it away, they not sure what to do and shit? Perfection, and Mr. Smith was a terrifying villain in Lost Boy. And just one more cause uh, I've been focusing on SJA too much lol- but the Pied Piper was a pretty terrifying alien, talking as someone who hates clowns.

And this is kinda SJA snd doctor who now, but the Trickster is a definite favorite of mine, as who doesn't love the concept of an alien who seeks to cause chaos via seeking people as they about to die and stopping their death via a deal so that the trickster can use them for his plans? He don't even appear in doctor who and yet, I am forever curious still about his brigade we got hinted at in Turn Left when his ally makes an alternate reality via Donna. In terms of Torchwood, off the top of my head as uh, I don't think Torchwood was always heavy on aliens lol: the Fairies cause holy shit, batman, to how they put a twist on fairies, and the 456 are a terrifying alien species, and not fully a favorite but I do find it funny a lil (I am a lil immature, ngl lol): the sex gas alien. Just...what even is that episode lmao?

And in terms of Doctor Who itself, besides the Slitheen I already mentioned, prior to Doctor Who fucking turning them into your villain of the work, Daleks were terrifying and they were really good in their appearences, especially Stolen Earth/Journey's End. Weeping Angels terrified me as a child, so I'd have to add them to my list, and also Steven Moffat, pay for my therapy please with that ending of Blink. The Altons are pretty good as well, again, Doctor Who turning anything you see into aliens, so good luck seeing them outside of Doctor Who. And I do appreciate the Cybermen, but I also have a soft spot for the Cybermats. Terrifying creatures that I also kinda wanna adopt lol. And I do agree about the Silence, but also like, shout out to uh, shout out to the Abzorbalof from Love And Monsters. A mixture of ridiuclous and terrifying in a pretty decent episode (except for the endng...that's just gonna make me weirded out forever). And as someone whose still terrified of the dark at twenty one, the Vastra Nerada are pretty good terrifying aliens. And last one, the Krillitane just for being in one of my favorite episodes of Tenth era...and also being terrifying, cause kid me could not watch these episodes but nowadays I can, though we need to question why so many aliens go after kids in this universe, cause you don't escape aliens no matter the age I guess.

And I have not watched much of Classic Who or read much of its extended lore, so I don't have much so far from Classic Who, but Candyman is funny as shit and I love him and I want him to come back, ridiuclous costume and all. And I fucking have a fear of spiders, but the spiders from third doctor era are just, they good villains and they look ridiculous, so onto the list they go, but its probably a good thing SJA didn't go through with bringing them back, given do not want to see them evolve from their puppet form.

#and with that #im gonna stop before my info dumping gets longer #seriously i love doctor who and its spin offs #well...some of them #have not seen class and don't really care to #or K9 spin off that happened...again don't care to really

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echo-echo31 · 2 years

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Additional Murdock headcanons bc I’m on a roll-

The supernatural horror hc got me thinking; like what if he’s not even scared of his victims coming back to haunt him, he’s just straight up scared of ghosts n shit?

Also; I think it’d be funny if he was just a teeny tiny bit of a himbo. Bc ever since I came up w/ the Mr Serotonin idea I’ve been imagining an au (*cough* a Torchwood au) where he’s gotten quite a reputation, and suddenly Torchwood needs his help (either as a chance for redemption or bc y’know they’d rather work with a serial killer than the government bc they’re all gay and they all do crime) and one of them (*coughs again* probably Sam) runs into him and is like “well well well… if it isn’t the infamous Mr Serotonin.” and Murdock is just like “…. But it is me?” and all of the respect, fear, and admiration Sam kinda felt towards him immediately vanishes bc omfg he’s literally stupid 🤣

{also sorry if you’ve never watched Torchwood bc this probably won’t make any sense if you haven’t lol}

~ @sammys-magical-au

10/10 (idk why im rating these id give anything full marks)

Omfg I love it (and Torchwood).

The line 'they’d rather work with a serial killer than the government bc they’re all gay and they all do crime'?? Yeah that broke me.

#sammy #divine romantic <3 #echo answers

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besidesitstoowarm · 1 year

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"Army of Ghosts" thoughts

i really need to stop doubting russell. he put his whole pussy into some of these episodes

so this is one of those stories i've never rewatched, ever. the ending to "doomsday" devastated me so severely in high school (11-ish years ago) that i shied away from ever returning to this story. so far, it bangs

it begins w narration from rose about nothing ever having happened to her in her entire life, you can actually hear billie smile when she says "and then i met a man called the doctor" and like. i really can't stress enough. rose is the insane one in their relationship. rose carries the brunt of the derangement. house/wilson, hannibal/will, i am a huge sucker for pairings where the "normal" half is the sickest person alive and that is the most interesting interpretation of rose, to me. she is so bored of normal life that she would literally rather die than return to it, and she LOVES it, she craves it, the danger is the appeal not the doctor. she obviously has feelings for him (mutual) but it doesn't matter if he's ancient or ugly or whatever, she needs this life. rose is insane. bless

i do love her kindness tho. her being very delicate and gentle w jackie over the ghosts thing, reminding her that her dad is dead, saying she wishes she could smell the same cigarette smoke but she doesn't

and the doctor's reaction to the ghosts. "don't you think it's beautiful?" "i think it's horrific" ouch. he's right but ouch. i do think jackie has a point, though not the one she thinks she's making. the fact that people have the capacity to love so deeply, so intently, that they see blurry figurines appear out of thin air and assign qualities and personalities and scents to them, they see a footprint and vividly reminisce about the boot, i do think that's beautiful. the human capacity for love even in the strangest circumstances is, to me (a historian by schooling, vet med by profession) one of the most endearing, admirable traits of humanity

rose blowing off jackie's concern for her new lifestyle by being like "i worked in a SHOP" [ie my previous life had no meaning or value] and jackie defensively saying "i've worked in shops" yes girl. retail workers have value and are in fact braver than any us marine (source: worked in macy's on black friday). rose has this nice dichotomy that feels deeply real, where she is kind of ashamed of her life (living at home, working retail) but also protective of it (defends her mom, always makes a point to talk to "the help")

we get our first allons-y this episode

we also get the resolution to 1000 mentions of torchwood this season. my boyfriend actually didn't know torchwood was a dw spinoff before he started this watch w me, which is kind of funny. torchwood isn't really worth all the buildup, tbh. it's not worth the hype. huge shoutout to burn gorman tho, wildly underrated as an actor. "we must defend our border against the alien" and wanting to harness the power of the hole between worlds in order to "never depend on the middle east again" wow really not subtle here. even ignoring the plans to reinstate the british empire. davies is virulently anti-establishment in this show (and i assume irl) and it's deeply refreshing; i think doctor who can be a little too liberal-centrist for my tastes at times (capaldi zygon two-parter my beloathed grrrrrrrrrrr) so i really respect how often he went whole-hog acab fuck the government. it's one of the biggest reasons i'm excited to have him BACK

oh also hi mickey again

anyway part 2! can't wait to die!!

#DW S2 #besides its too rewatch #Doctor Who #Army of Ghosts

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lonelier-version-of-you · 1 year

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Back to series 15 of Holby - this time, I’ll be watching S15E24 “Journey’s End”. I don’t know what it says about me that I just keep thinking “oh, there was also a Doctor Who episode with that title” lol.

Edit 1: Oh, Tara. :( And Ollie being so worried about her. :’))

Edit 2: It’s Chantelle’s birthday! This episode aired on the 26th of March 2013, so unless they go on to say it’s set some other day (but it definitely seems like it’s been a week since the previous episode), that’s when her birthday is.

Edit 3: That scene with Chrissie and the patient was lovely.

Edit 4: Tara 😭

Edit 5: Chantelle thinking her ex (maybe Torchwood Boy, maybe another ex, it’s not clear) is the only one to remember her birthday. :(

Edit 6: Henrik and Tara scene!!

Edit 7: It honestly didn’t click with me until just now that Jake doesn’t know (at this point) about Malick being gay.

Edit 8: I’m so obsessed with this whole “secret birthday party for Chantelle” plot. This is the kind of fun later Holby almost always lacked in.

Edit 9: This episode is leaning really hard into the whole ‘Arthur is autistic’ thing, lol.

Edit 10: Jing Lusi being brilliant again. I love Tara (and her relationship with Ollie) so much.

Edit 11: I hate how this dad on AAU is behaving towards his daughter.

Edit 12: Arthur and Ollie scene! I do miss when people from different wards would interact.

Edit 13: Speaking of autistic Arthur, he just said: “The thing is, I just - I tend to find that being myself doesn’t really work for me.”

Edit 14: “Technically that’s four words, isn’t it? Two contracted.” Why is Arthur in this episode acting just like me.

Edit 15: Okay, so apparently Torchwood Boy is indeed the ex who called Chantelle earlier. And she’s going out for a meal with him. Chantelle, turning Arthur down is one thing, but don’t give Torchwood Boy the time of day! He never deserved you! You deserve better!

Edit 16: Henrik calling Tara by her first name 😭 He almost never went by first-name basis with people at this point, especially not at work. So you know he’s worried when he addresses her as “Tara” and not “Dr. Lo”.

Edit 17: Wow. Just... wow. That final monologue from Tara just blew me away. The writing, the delivery... the whole thing is just heartbreaking.

Also, just... see, this is why I don’t understand “Henrik saw Sahira as a daughter!” takes (or the fact that his actual Wikipedia page says that - I really need to update it at some point). For one thing, Guy Henry himself has said that Henrik was sexually attracted to Sahira.

But even if he hadn’t - Henrik was very clear on his interest in Sahira being romantic (he freaked out so much when she asked him if it was for a reason, he wouldn’t have been so bothered if it wasn’t the case), he repeatedly compared himself to Sahira’s romantic interests (both Greg and Rafi) with comments like “why would you be [dependent on Henrik for emotional validation] when you can derive your self-esteem from the fawning attentions of our finest beta males?”, or “What you felt in there [theatre] just now... you won’t feel that anywhere else. Or with anyone else.” (this was literally part of a rant about how if she left Holby and moved away with her husband, she’d come to resent Rafi and want to still be with Henrik instead!). Even just the way he looks at her - that’s not the way you look at someone you think of as a daughter.

I mean, I know fundamentally abuse and harassment is more about power than attraction - and it’s about power in Henrik’s case too - but in this case, attraction was most definitely a facet in the whole thing. It would still have been sexual harassment and emotional abuse (yes, I said the words, the words fandom utterly refuses to apply to Henrik and his treatment of Sahira! Actually, there might be some interesting analysis to apply here about how people struggle to accept that someone can be an abuser to someone in their life and also have genuinely loving and positive relationships with others. Because Henrik’s not a complete monster all the time, and has had plenty of moments of care and compassion, people struggle to accept that he can have done all of that and still have abused Sahira.) if he wasn’t attracted to her, but he was.

Whereas if you look at his relationship with Tara - he genuinely loves her, worries about her, and treats her like a daughter. He cared deeply enough that even Roxanna felt the need to tell him how sorry she was after Tara’s passing. I don’t know why people say Sahira was the one he viewed as a daughter, when he was so much more parental to Tara.

I might edit this again later to cut down this meta, because the rant’s gotten longer than I intended. I have a lot of feelings about the Henrik/Tara relationship.

#holby s15 rewatch #tw;sexual harassment #tw;abuse

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cescalr · 2 years

Note

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

Aww, thanks mate <3 I'm gonna count 'written' as 'finished' or we'd be here all day hemming and hawing about which ones are my favourite. <3 This narrows it down to 5 of 65 instead of 102, which... i think you'll understand why I needed to do that. Pls. Sanity. I need that. That's something I need to keep having. (Also, no repeat ships/fandoms, just to let my other works shine. Teen wolf has a major bias otherwise, with 40 of my fics being for that show)

In no particular order;

For When The Sunset Turns To Gold - Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Gen. Minor crossovers with Torchwood and Harry Potter, but mostly negligible. More about the Pevensies post-film lives (because they DO NOT DIE, BOOKS, THANKS) than anything else.

To note, I am incredibly proud of this fic! I love the feeling it's got. I was very emotional when I wrote it because I'd just watched Prince Caspian and got reminded of the very sticky ends each of these people meet and i was like NOPE OKAY and wrote this to make myself feel better. I'm pretty sure I cried when I was writing it. Actually, I'm tearing up rn. Onto the next one very quickly-

Keeping This. - Teen Wolf, Stiles/Theo, post-series AU. Soulmate AU, too.

Started in my Journey Across the Dimensions fic/let collection, finished here. This one was interesting because of how long it got, lol, for a one-shot. I ended up using it for my Steoday fic, and I'm still really happy with it. I just think this is some solid character work, and some extra-solid character dynamics work. I'm not so good with the building up romance thing, and I think this is one of the times where I did an actually good job with it, instead of just an ok one. Trying to get more comfortable establishing relationships than having them already established, since that's what I prefer to read anyway esp for non-canon fare. Anyway, I'm pleased with this one. As an AU i think it works, and i think it works more for being pretty canon-compliant. It's simple and it's easy and it's actually quite soft, which is rare for me. Especially when it comes to these two fellas. Stiles and Theo as written by me are... rarely soft. So this is a nice reprieve. Especially since I think I did a good job keeping them accurate despite the sweetness. I'm also pretty sure I managed to keep the tense consistent! But don't quote me on that. Same for all of these, actually. (Working on it, working on it...)

A Muggle Cliché (thank you for making me write this, lol) - Harry Potter, Ron/Harry, coffee shop/squib!harry/no voldemort AU! (Also background Dumbledore time travelled AU, but shhhh not important nobody ic knows that. The fic is fluffy and happy and great and the shadowy background history of the AU is not even remotely addressed.) I am halfway through writing a technical-sequel to this fic that's Cho/Ginny, stay tuned! (I know it's taking forever and the request came in before Easter, but to the person who sent in the prompt, I promise i'm literally like, halfway there. Should be done by the end of summer, at max.)

Obviously you know this one, since you made me write it, lol. Thank you for the prompt, again! I think this is my strongest ronarry excluding your other prompt, but I mean, like, non-canon ronarry is hard for me because i'm super attached to their canon selves, so this was a work in characterisation where I could see how an AU like this would change them without them being totally different people who we don't care about because it's like, in name only shit (which I'm never fond of, as a rule). So, yeah! This is one of the most saccharine things I've written. Good lord. Did pay you back for that, though.... sorry.

Somebody to Someone. - Slaughterhouse Rulez, Don/Willoughby, post-movie AU. Thank the entire Slaughterhouse Rulez discord for this one lol like a few years back. Man, how time flies... I was 17 when the film came out.... i'm 21.... gosh... anyway fluffy Christmastime goodness.

Yeah, I mean, I said it there. fluffy christmastime goodness. Don't blame that part on me, though, I had a lot of help writing this one. I'm proud of the parts I wrote and I'm super grateful for the help from the discord, you guys are great! So I guess this is my first fic that's a collaboration (that's actually a fic - we won't talk about the other one...) so, uh, yeah! Awesome! Collabs are fun. Working with other people on a fic can be a great experience. And I'm very happy with the outcome! Slaughterhouse Rulez is one of my favourite movies. If you take anything from me, it's that you should watch it and also join the discord server. It's a fandom of like 15 people. We need mooooorrrrreeeeeeeeeee-

In Another Universe (Maybe We Were Happy.) - Assassin's Creed, Desmond/Clay, 5 aus in which they (eventually, at least) get together romantically, and one in which they don't. Obviously varies wildly between angst and not angst, as is my M.O. To note I am working on that other AC fic (the soulmate au one) but it's taking forever bc i need to replay ac3. Dumb dumb moment here. Literally forgot the plot *facepalm.* Anway, somehow hoping these 44k words are enough to tide over the literal years people have been waiting for me to finish that other fic... ack.

This one is super nostalgic which is weird since it's not even that old, but I'm really fond of it. One of my first long-fics that i actually finished, which is also cool. Each chapter is it's own AU, so really I'm not sure if this is a fic per se or more a fic anthology, but either way, I'd never done the 5 + 1 format before and I thought it'd be cool. It was a good way for me to work through my characterisation of these guys, who I'd not written before, and my thoughts on the AC universe, which I'd also not written before. I think it's some solid writing and it's got one of my best AUs and romances, in chapter 2, with the coffee shop assassins AU where the Templars are Starbucks. Yeah, I know, I think something about coffee must trigger my romantic sensibilities which are usually stuck somewhere else in hibernation. Or fear. Or something. I'm bad at romance, anyway. The last chapter is some good Angst and I think some of my best angst, so there's that. It's a mite bit confusing if you don't know AC, though, but then that's the case for most fanfics of media. (I've read fanfics of media I've never consumed, though, that made perfect sense to me, so...) Anyway. Uh, yeah. Love this one. Very fond of it. Love my boys <3 Claysmond probably in the top ten for my otps. May even be top five, depending on the day. (Today? Yes.) Desmond and Clay are definitely in my top ten characters, anyway. I could not tell you where they sit, though.

Cheating to add Ginny Weasley, Veteran of War, Time Traveller, Defeater of Dark Lords, and Dark, but Good., which is a series and not a fic, and I don't think the components work as well on their lonesome. Technically hinny but for the first two fics he's dead. (actually, he's still dead in the last fic, it's just that ginny is as well. Not a spoiler.) Basically, well, read the series title: she time travels, she kills voldy, she's a bit fucked up and she's done some fucked up shit but she's still Ginny Weasley, and she's a good person at heart. Anyway, love these fics. Might've cried a little when writing. Might not. Can't prove shit you weren't there! (I did. I definitely did.) Anyway. Mostly Gen with Minor/Background Relationships. Contains Fantastic Beasts canon up to the second movie and kinda including, but veers very AU, and written before the third (which I wouldn't have acknowledged anyway, since i'm not planning on ever viewing it with mine eyes). Uh, yeah. (Premise of this fic series could actually lead to other fics/aus stemming from it..... given how Ginny gets back in the past in the first place. Sooooo that's fun!)

Thanks again!

#con #tw #hp #ac #shr #claysmond #ronarry #steo #myfanfic #myfic #<3 thanks again A!

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suncaptor · 2 years

Note

RIP now I need to watch Torchwood again...

MOOD

#ask #anonymous #incoherents #i literally do need to watch torchwood again

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ambertea · 3 years

Text

together

(read on AO3)

Day two of the Doctorrose Fic Marathon! Based on the prompt "holding hands".

“I want a job.” He announced one morning. Rose was hovering over a mirror as she lined her eyes with dark pencil. “I was thinking Torchwood.”

She stayed silent, her eyebrows furrowing as she rubbed at the mascara that had fallen under her eyes. His feet lead him to stand behind her, and he watched his nervous face reflected back at him.

“Is that okay?”

She nodded at herself in the mirror and straightened. “Talk to Pete.”

“Well, actually, I was thinking your department sounded more interesting.”

She turned and stared at him flatly.

“Tell me what my department does.”

“Alien…stuff.” He replied, rubbing at the back of his neck.

She brushed past him and his hands snatched at her wrists, quickly dropping them at the look on her face.

“Rose, please.”

Her eyes flicked to the clock behind him. “I’m running late.”

“Tomorrow, then?” He asked eagerly. She nodded.

“Tomorrow, yeah. Sure.”

The door banged behind her, and he collapsed onto the bed and let the silence taunt him once more.

It was nice, being stuck in one place, nice in a way that made his muscles tense and his fingers curl. The next-door neighbours always smiled at him when he put out the bins, and the girl at the coffee shop didn’t even ask for his order anymore, just thrust it at him with her usual dreary rage. The kids on the street all knew his name – well, one of his names – and called out to him to play football with them or help them with their homework.

Rose enjoyed it less. Everywhere she went, whispers followed. People eyed her nervously in the supermarket, would press themselves against the shelves as though she was an elephant thundering past, rather than a small human woman trying to buy milk.

Everyone he asked about it had just shrugged. Rose herself had ignored him entirely, but whether that was due to the question itself or just his presence was unclear.

He had spent three long years away from her, yet he had never missed her quite like this. She slept beside him—apparently, the only proof he had was slightly creased sheets and makeup stains on her pillows—and then would disappear with a cursory “Torchwood” thrown over her shoulder. Her phone, that was literally always in her hand, was apparently incapable of picking up his calls or answering texts, and his own only mocked him with read receipts.

He had thought she would understand this new him. He had changed his entire body before, and it was less than a day after that she had been holding his hand and snuggling into his side. It had been four months now, in this universe, four long and agonising months of sitting indoors and waiting for something to happen. Every time he looked at her, he hoped for some flood of recognition, a moment where she realised he was still him and so they ought to just get on with it.

Every day that passed brought less and less hope that that would ever happen.

“Wake up. Hey, wake up.”

He opened his eyes, blinking against the bleariness of sleep. A fan of blonde hair tickled the sides of his face, and brown eyes watched him blankly.

“Rose?”

“Come on.”

He sat up, stretching out his arms and working the kinks out of his back. The windows were dark, and the traffic outside was only loud, rather than its usual deafening. Rose folded her arms and stared down at him, and he fidgeted slightly under her gaze.

“What’s going on?”

“You wanted Torchwood. It’s time for Torchwood. Put these on,” she ordered, throwing some boots on the floor. “We need to go.”

“Right.” He said, limbs failing in his haste to stand. The room flickered with darkness for a second and he cursed stupid human blood pressure. “Where are we going?”

“Coast.”

“Which coast?” He asked, wrestling the boots onto his bare feet. Rose rolled her eyes and threw a jacket at him.

“The one next to the sea. Now come on, hurry up.”

He thrust his arms into the jacket and hurried after her retreating form. A blast of cold hair hit him like a bucket of cold water, and he wrapped his arms tightly around his sides as he shuffled forwards. Rose’s phone was at her ear, her voice hard as she barked out her instructions.

“Solomon street. Now.”

A green SUV whizzed round the corner, skidding to a stop perfectly in front of them. A young man stepped out, ginger and pale, and immediately saluted.

“Ma’am.”

“Thank you, Stewart. I’ll take it from here.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The boy turned and marched down the street, picking his direction seemingly at random. Rose jumped into the drivers’ side and looked at him impatiently. He gawked at her through the window.

“What’s going on?”

“Later. C’mon.”

Her hands were white around the steering wheel, and he stared at them, feeling dread settle in his gut. The engine started up with a groan and he quickly ran around and jumped into the passenger side.

Before he could even reach for his seatbelt, the car lurched into action, and his head slapped into the headrest.

“Sorry,” Rose mumbled, her eyes not moving from the road as the speed only went up. He nodded frantically, quickly securing himself and then gripping tightly at the edges of the chair.

“Where are we going?” He asked, voice unnaturally high. For a moment, he thought he saw her mouth curve upwards, but within a second it was back to the same flat mask.

“Where do you think?” She scoffed. “Where else? Bad Wolf Bay.”

Their journey to Norway passed in heavy silences that were only occasionally broken by questions that Rose only ignored. He fiddled relentlessly with the cuffs of his shirt and tried to calm his stupid single heart, that pounded and screamed in his ears.

This, more than anything else, was what he hated about this world – he was never in control here, never understood what he should be doing, or what he should say. He never used to care about that stuff before. His life had always been spontaneous, he had prided himself on it in some sick, sad way, but all he could long for now was a sliver of certainty.

Was this how she would finally dump him? On the very beach they were headed towards, she had kissed him, and at the time it had felt like a hello. It seemed now it had been more of a goodbye. He had always known Rose, could always reliably understand what was going through her head at any given point. The woman he had been left with seemed like someone else entirely. A stranger, with the face of the woman he loved the most.

His whole species had died – all his family, all his friends. But this loneliness was far more insidious and hung heavily in the space between his bones.

“We’re here,” Rose said, and he startled. She jumped out of her seat and walked round to his door, flinging it open. He watched her eyes staring carefully at the space between his eyebrows. “Come on.”

“I don’t want to.”

“What, you think I’m going to drown you?”

“Well, I do now.”

She sighed. "I’m not. I promise you’re going to want to see this.”

He gazed at her, trying to understand what was behind the tense line of her mouth and her unwavering stare. Nothing revealed itself.

Unclipping his belt, he got out of the car and slammed the door behind him. Rose reached out, grabbed his hand, and pulled him towards the beach.

It was hushed, only the angry crash of the waves breaking the idyllic landscape. His eyes flickered towards where it happened – where the TARDIS had landed and stranded him in this world of mystifying social cues and angry faces.

Her hand was clasped around his own tightly, as though trying to stop him from running away, but that was the last thing on his mind. It had been so long since he had held her hand. It was as comforting as it was devastating.

“Before the stars started going out,” Rose whispered, her soft voice carrying through the wind. “I was working on a way to get back.”

“The dimension canon.”

“Yeah, but other things too. We dumped them all when the canon started working.”

Her face was sad, wistful even and he squeezed her hand tightly. She startled, looking up at him, and he was alarmed by the wetness of her eyes.

“And?”

“And I’ve been working on one of them. Since…since we came back.”

His heart had literally leapt into the back of his throat. It was the only plausible explanation for the lack of air, for the way his whole body was screaming at him to go, to get out now. He hung his head and kicked at the sand.

“This is where the walls are weakest. We made a sort of, um, portal. You can just step through, see.”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. With a tap of a key, a bright swirl opened around them, wind whipping around it angrily. He stepped back and pulled her with him.

“It’s not possible.”

“Same phone you gave me. Energy source from the original universe. Battery never runs out, so—”

“—so it has the power to send you back.” He finished darkly. She shook her head.

“No. Enough power to send you back.”

He thrust away from her hand and stared at her. She had tears running down her cheeks, and her eyes were wide and sad.

“No.”

“You’re not happy here.” She whispered, pulling on her earring.

“Neither are you.”

“No.” She agreed with a half-hearted chuckle.

“Rose,” he said desperately, clutching at her hands again, pressing his body as closely to hers as he could. “Rose, no. Please. I’m still the Doctor. I swear—the exact same man. I want to be here with you.”

Her hand came up and rested lightly on his cheek. He leaned into it, kissing her palm, greedily clutching at this small token of affection.

“I know,” she whispered. “Exact same man.”

“Yes! I’m him; I am exactly him—”

“The same man who left me on this beach.”

The wind from the portal settled. The sea calmed. Silence reigned.

“I stayed with you.”

“But left, as well.”

He was still clutching at her. His hands snaked around the back of her neck, pulling her forehead to his. Rose’s eyes were tightly shut. His were wide and searching.

“I don’t understand,” he whispered to her, and she only squeezed her eyes tighter, mascara leaking from her eyelashes.

“You left me, again. You didn’t even say goodbye. Why do you never say goodbye?”

“Rose—”

“I did everything I could do get back to you. Everything. Terrible things. But—” She opened her eyes and stared at him with open devastation. “You didn’t want me.”

“Of course, I did, I do.” he whispered. She ignored him.

“You just—left you here. To deal with me. To stop me trying to come back again, or whatever.” She cleared her throat and stepped out of his embrace and rubbed angrily at her eyes. “But it’s okay. I’ll stay here. I want you to be happy.”

“Rose, please.” He begged, voice breaking. He tried to grab her hand again, but she was stepping away from his embrace, arms wrapped tightly around herself. “I want to be with you. I told you, didn’t I?”

“You said you could spend your life with me.”

“Yes—yes—please. I want that. I swear I want that. He had to go; you know he had to. But I,” his face broke into a tiny, happy smile. “I got to stay.”

She stepped forwards cautiously, her hands shaking. He stayed as still as he could, resisting the urge to pull her tightly into his arms.

“You were dumped here too. You didn’t get a choice, either.” She whispered. He smiled and gently took her hand.

“I didn’t need a choice. My answer will always be you.”

She flung herself into his arms, and he clung to her desperately, nuzzling his face into her hair. Her hands were everywhere – along his back, down his arms, his neck. They clutched at his jaw and he pulled back, just a little, so he could take her in properly. There was still pain splashed across her face, but a cautious hope lit up her eyes.

“I love you.” He whispered. “Please let me.”

“Okay.” She whispered back.

She untangled herself from his embrace, and pulled out her phone, closing the portal as quickly as she’d opened it.

He offered out his hand, and she took it, a smile playing across her face.

“Together?”

“Together.” She nodded.

He pulled her away from the beach, feeling, for the first time in months, that they might just be okay.

#ive written something two days in a row.......this is how athletes must feel #fic #tentoo x rose #rose tyler #doctor who

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princess-of-the-worlds · 4 years

Photo

tldr: As of this October, it has officially been one year since I first watched Torchwood and started reading fics. Although I didn’t start writing my own fics until March 2020, I have written...like a lot of fics in the past seven months. But I wanted to celebrate my favorite fics by other people. So here is Part 1 of probably several eventual fic rec posts. These are what I consider fandom staples.

To The Sticking Place by zephyras13

The end justifies the means. Failure is not an option. There is always a choice, except when there isn't. These are the phrases Ianto Jones lives by and he refuses to allow anyone, even Captain Jack Harkness, to change that. Jack/Ianto, AU, Torchwood One Agent!Ianto.

(janto & others | complete | mature | 96K)

Nik: I legitimately cannot explain why I love this fic so much other than the fact it is so great! It was one of the first fics I read, and I still adore it. It follows canon so well while making you feel very range of the emotion spectrum. The author’s take on Ianto is so complexly-written but still feels true to the canonical Ianto. Literally one of the first fics I’d rec to anyone new to fandom. A must read.

only fools fall by transjackianto

“Oh my god,” he gasps out when his laughter has died down to softer chuckles, “I am so glad I stuck around to hear that. Thank you Jack, I needed to laugh today. Now if you’ll excuse me,” he pushes back from the table for the third time but Jack stops him again with a hand over his own. It is a softer touch than before and that unnerves Ianto more than anything.

He looks up, terrified he’s going to see some kind of earnest emotion on Jack’s face. When he finds Jack looking instead like he swallowed a handful of pins he relaxes. He’s not sure he could handle finding out Jack had some kind of ridiculous unrequited crush on him.

“I know,” Jack groans, dropping Ianto’s hand and letting his head thunk against where his arms are crossed on the table, “I want to punch myself just for saying it, but I mean it Ianto. I need you to be my boyfriend.”

Aka, Ianto just wants to make it through his summer as a newly single sixth form graduate and eagerly await the end when his ex comes back from her summer trip and they can reunite.

His ex-friend Jack Harkness throws a wrench into the works.

(janto, lisaianto, & others | complete | mature | 182K)

Nik: Okay, so I’m a tiny bit biased with this one considering that the author is my friend whom I adore and also one of my favorite people in this fandom. And I...also betaed this entire fic. But take it from me! It’s so, so well-written and the shift from enemies to lover is so perfect. There is angst, oh so much angst, but it is worth it. Plus, it’s incredibly hot! And I know the author has eventual plans for a sequel, although no promises when it’s coming. Another must read!

Halfway Back by Sholio (@sholiofic)

Team Torchwood run a sanctuary for magical creatures, and this time they've got a basilisk on their hands.

(gen | complete | teen | 13K)

Nik: Okay, so literally anything by Sholio is perfect. They have an incredible grasp of the team dynamic that still blows my mind, and their fics have topnotch Owen-Ianto interactions. But I chose this fic because the premise felt like almost nothing I’d read in this fandom before. Plus, there is still the requisite amount of Owen angst in this. (Also check out The Cartography of Feeling, which is another personal favorite.)

Conversational Japanese, Plus Frogs by james

Tosh and Ianto have been taken prisoner. They cope.

(janto | complete | teen | 6K)

Nik: One of the older, shorter recs on this list but still a classic. A fascinating in-depth character study of Ianto and Tosh and their friendship in confined quarters that also explores the trauma that follows some of Torchwood’s misadventures. I don’t think I can say much else besides urging you to read it!

Sharkreef (Or, Why Torchwood Was Set in Cardiff and Not the Bermuda Triangle) by queenfanfiction

There is the story of a team who tried to save Earth from aliens. This is not that story.

(janto & many, many others | complete | teen | 2K)

Nik: Look, I know that some will actually despise that I included this rec, but this fic is ICONIC. It’s cracky, yes. Cracky crack. Very crack. But it’s also legitimately one of the strangest/whackiest/what-the-fuck fics I’ve ever read. It always startles a genuine laugh out of me. It has all of our favorite tropes...coupled with some lobsters. (Sidenote: This reminds me of John Mulaney/SNL’s Diner Lobster sketch, which I also encourage you to watch.)

Insignificant Other by parachutewoman

Ianto is tasked with telling Rhys that his newly wedded wife has ditched him to go to London with Jack on a “very important mission”. Refusing to have his day ruined, Rhys drags Ianto along to the Six Nations final and the two ‘other halves’ try to make sense of their place in the world and their partners’ lives.

(janto & gwenrhys | complete | mature | 6K)

Nik: Ianto-Rhys friendship content is something that is severely lacking in this fandom, which is a damn shame. You can see from COE that Rhys seems to genuinely care about Jack and Ianto, which I presume is from post-Exit Wounds bonding with his wife’s coworkers. And I know that the audiobook Ghost Train has a lot of good Ianto-Rhys bonding, although I just haven’t had the time to listen to it yet. Either way, this fic, and the other fics by this author, are very well-written and beautiful. This one, set circa S2, has just the right amount of angst mixed in as well as you watched Ianto go from reluctantly accompanying Rhys to actually enjoying himself. I definitely enjoyed this fic.

Beast Inside by Flamingbluepanda (@flamingbluepanda)

"Argue with anything else, but don’t argue with your own nature.” - Phillip Pullman

Inside us all, there is an animal that expresses our soul. How would the world change were those animals outside?

(janto & others | complete | mature | 26K)

Nik: Admittedly, this one is also a bit biased because the author is my friend and I am their loyal occasional beta, but I started reading it before I met the author. Although daemons do come from His Dark Materials, they have become a sort of AU on their own, and thus, you do not need to have read HDM to read this excellent fic. I definitely have not. There is angst, there is fluff, there is canon compliance. And there is Dai. Dai, Rhys’s corgi daemon, is probably not the one you would expect to steal the show, but he stole my heart. (I mean, Navi and Emma, Jack’s bear daemon and Ianto’s terrier daemon, adorable respectively...but Dai!) Expect to fall in love with Dai by ths end of this fic!

To Let by Amand_r

Ianto Jones is a good housemate.

(janto & lisaianto | complete | not rated | 12K)

Nik: Now this fic is a little bit different from the rest because it is not only second person POV but is also outside POV, which makes it slightly odd to read at first. But I can assure you, it is most definitely worth it. Ianto’s unnamed housemate makes for an interesting perspective into Ianto’s personal and domestic life as well as exploring his relationship with Jack. His housemate, of course, doesn’t remain one-sided, with loss and love and life of his own, but you can tell that his bond with Ianto is genuine. This fic provides a nice break from the explicit canon while still exploring familiar events.

Your Job Knows What It Is by ShastaFirecracker

Torchwood Three, 2045. Bram Hudson's just been recruited by Jack Harkness, it's xir first day of work, and orientation is being handled by some old man named Jones.

(janto | complete | gen | 9K)

Nik: Okay, I lied. This fic is outsider POV as well, but Bram is so well-written and complex even from the short while we have with xem. As an alternate to the previous fic, this one provides great, interesting exploration into a future, slightly different Torchwood while also serving as a COE fix-it fic. Older Ianto is just as badass as when he was younger, and the insights into his relationship with Jack are sweet and will leave you craving more.

Worrisome Heart by thepsychicclam

It's 1922. Ianto accidentally stumbles upon a speakeasy owned by Captain Jack Harkness. When Ianto becomes a bartender, he quickly learns how dangerous everything around him truly is, and more importantly, how dangerous Jack is. But the longer he knows Jack, the more he doesn't care.

(janto | complete | explicit | 42K)

Nik: This fic, this series in fact, is one of the only complete Historical AUs I have found in this fandom. Set in 1922 New York, it features all our beloved characters as completely human and sans Torchwood and aliens, which - of course - means that they can feel a bit OOC at first. Still, as you read on through this fic and its three sequels, you will realize just how well adopted the events and characterization from canon are. If you going in thinking of this as original work rather than fic, it might help you adjust to the differences. Quite well-written!

Intersecting Geodesics by NancyBrown

Stuck in a time with a Jack who hasn't met him yet, all Ianto wants is a way home.

(janto & jackjohn | complete | mature | 37K)

Nik: There are numerous “Ianto gets sent into the future by the Rift or an artifact and meets past!Jack” fics existing in this fandom, but this is one of my favorites. For one, it’s written by the incomparable author who has many, many excellent fics that I like. (Their smut is seriously topnotch, especially for some of your kinkier tastes if said tastes exist.) The distanced younger Jack provides just the right amount of angst, and his eventual fall for Ianto is built-up just enough to work believably. The resolution is satisfying enough, and the author has a few other fics in this series to keep you going!

For Captain and Cardiff by blackhemlock

"At midnight, a nationwide security alert was sent out... Torchwood London, demands all agencies' cooperation in issuing an arrest warrant for Ianto Merric Jones, 24, of Cardiff."

Torchwood Three's Archivist has gone rogue. But, he does have a very good reason, and he looks stunning in his new suit.

(janto & tenjack | complete | gen | 42K)

Nik: Admittedly, I will often be picky in my fics featuring the Tenth Doctor because of how he mistreated Jack, but this fic features a true-to-canon portrayal of Ianto and the Doctor that I adore. It does well in building up your expectations of Ianto and the Doctor’s encountering and then subverting it. There is also good room for Jack-Ianto angst, which only adds to my enjoyment of the fic. I don’t necessarily know how to explain it, but this fic also feels sleek and modern despite its timey-wimey elements.

What Dreams May Come by AVAAntares (@avaantares)

It's bad enough that a plague of alien parasites have fallen through the rift and are preying on Cardiff's citizens. It's worse that someone from Jack's past has come from the future to confront him on Earth. But when Jack himself is taken by the rift, Ianto and Gwen are forced to rely on the most unlikely of allies to keep Torchwood running without him.

Stranded in another century on a distant planet, Jack has only one hope of returning to Earth. But time travel with the Doctor has never been an exact science, and when he returns to Cardiff, things are not at all as he expects to find them...

(janto | complete | teen | 88K)

Nik: Honestly, I think one of my favorite parts of this fic may be the inclusion of an OC, Jamiya Thane, AKA Jack’s mother. I’m just a sucker for fandom’s takes on Jack’s canonical family and past as Javic Thane from Boeshane, and this plays into it well. It’s endearing to watch Jack’s found family, especially Ianto, interact with his mother. Also included is a rather brilliant time-travel mystery that will tug at your heartstrings on many levels. Excellent soft Jack-Ianto content in chapters and a creepy use of a one-off Doctor Who creature.

Ghost Story by Mad_Maudlin

I called out. "Would you like to hear a ghost story?"

For a moment Jack didn't move, and I knew he'd recognized my voice. After a moment he said, flatly, "I don't believe in ghosts."

"It's a complicated story," I admitted, and pulled the watch from my pocket by the chain. "And it starts with 'Long ago and far away.'"

(janto | complete | teen | 70K)

Nik: This fic! I passed this fic many times on my search for new fics to read, and the summary always threw me a bit, but when I decided to take a chance on it, I realized what I’d been missing out on. There’s so many fics in this fandom, and on this list, that take familiar tropes but twist them into something new, just like this fic. Without giving too much away, I can say that this fic features Time Lords, pocket watches, shifting POVs, and a COE fix-it, all packed with a brow-raising plot twist. It’s enough to make me forgive the first person POV, which I can usually not stand but actually works quite well for this fic! A fic worth reading at least once, if not many times. It feels so utterly unique!

Time Tracks by Cyborgtamaki (@cyborgtamaki) and thirteeninafez (@thirteeninafez)

It took him a second to realise what had happened; what had felt like hours while travelling through the rift shrunk itself in his head to a mere instant of searing gold. That’s when the flicker of the fire in front of him finally registered through his confused daze. In his haste to get away from the flames around him, he slipped and fell, scrambling back until he was a safe distance away from the smoke and the heat. It was only then that he took notice of the voices behind him. He turned towards the noise of a deep, northern voice spluttering and saying, confused and almost angry: “Who the hell are you?” The man rolled over onto his knees and stood up, looking around like he’d never seen a street before. “Jones.” He sounded uncertain but then spoke again with more confidence. “Ianto Jones.”

(janto & ninerose | complete | teen | 174K)

Nik: There’s many “Ianto travels with the Ninth Doctor and Rose” fics in this fandom, but this one is the longest, most recent, and one of the most excellent that I’ve read. The authors have written in-depth chapters of the Doctor Who Season 1 episodes we already know and adore as well as adding their own unique “episodes,” all of which are deeply enjoyable. There is excellent character interactions, specifically a wonderful Rose-Ianto friendship, and so much soft Jack-Ianto. The authors have, personally, promised several more installments coming by the end of the year or later, and they are sure to be worth the wait!

Club Wales by pocky_slash

In the wake of Jack's disappearance, Gwen finds comfort in a new friendship with Ianto. Gossip, bonding, and other hijinks of understanding ensue.

(gwenrhys & janto | complete | teen | 19K)

Nik: This author is single-handedly a Gwen-Ianto dynamic icon. Their grasp on Gwen and Ianto’s respective characterization is brilliant, and their friendship in this fic, and any fic the author writes, is well-fleshed out and believable enough for the moments we only really see on-screen briefly in the show. This fic, and overall series, serves as a compelling insight into how the team originally views Jack and how Gwen and Ianto grow closer. Gwen truly was one of Ianto’s big sister figures, which is excellently reflected in this fic. A must read!

Just this once by Beleriandings (@ultraviolet-eucatastrophe)

(Everybody lives.)

(Or: when a certain Doctor arrives to save Owen Harper from a stricken nuclear power station, it begins a chain of events that will lead Torchwood Three down a very different path. From time locks and telepathy to tea and coffee, high-speed chases to unresolved sibling issues, their new lives (and new and old loves) may be different, but their bonds of friendship and family grow stronger every day. But when every child on earth starts speaking with one voice, the team are torn apart again as they’re forced to fight for their lives, and to confront monsters they’d thought they’d left behind in the past. But with all of them working together – along with some allies they’ve made along the way – Torchwood Three will stop at nothing to save their friends and set the world to rights. The consequences will ripple out across the universe and into the distant future. But they have to start somewhere, and the present is as good a place as any.)

(janto & others | complete | teen | 239K)

Nik: Many fics are post-Exit Wounds and COE fix-its, at the same time, but dare I say that this one is the best? (Or one of the best at least.) The Tenth Doctor receives his own iconic “Everybody lives” moment, but that is only where this fic BEGINS. This beautiful monster, which I mean in the very best sense considering its length, traverses Exit Wounds, COE, and slightly Miracle Day and gives everyone a happy ending. In addition, the author, another friend of mine, I’ll be honest, manages to redeem and humanize Gray in a way I didn’t think possible, but I actually found myself liking him. This is definitely a must, must read, especially if you’re new to the fandom or just finished having your heart thrown out.

The Stars Might Stick You Where You Stand by methylethyl

Following the fall of Torchwood One, Jack Harkness went to ask Torchwood Three for a job. He didn’t expect to fall a little bit in love with its director, the practical and ever-calm Ianto Jones. He also probably didn’t expect that Ianto Jones would end up holding the answers to his most precious secret.

(janto | complete | explicit | 20K)

Nik: I’ll be honestly - I’m a sucker for role reversal AUs in any fandom, and this is one fic I see rarely mentioned or recced, which I think is a damn shame. It is definitely in my top five fics; I adore it so much. Jack is cast in the role of Ianto, gunning for a job at Torchwood Three after the fall of Canary Wharf. His “Lisa” is his desperate, life-long search for his brother Gray who was taken by Torchwood when they were both children. Ianto is, obviously, the immortal director of Torchwood Three, but what makes him even more compelling is the lack of direct reference to his AU past. We don’t know who this Ianto Jones was before he, like Jack, arrived in Cardiff in the 1800s, newly-immortal and ensnared into working for Torchwood. Instead, this fic, and series, focuses on a stretch of episodes from Season 1 intermingled with elements from Season 2, as well as subverting the expected team relationships. Jack and Ianto are believably different but still realistic in their characterization, and look, I adore this AU, which I’ve already said. A personal favorite and must read!

Cling to the Ways of My Name by engagemythrusters ( @iianto-jones)

If Ianto Jones thought his legacy would die out with him in Thames House, he was dead wrong.

(janto & gwenrhys | complete | teen | 37K)

Nik: Hopefully, you’ve already read this fic by now. If not, may I dare ask what you’ve been doing with your life? This is one of my favorite fics of all-time in this fandom, as well as my favorite kidfic ever. It’s so well-written and just so damn unique. I cannot capture in words what makes it so special, although I will try. Ioan Jones is the sweetest janto baby ever, and I love him with all my heart. Jack’s adventures raising Ioan are just so endearing, and later installments, which feature Ianto, serve to satisfy the domestic Jack-Ianto as parents craving you might not even have known you had. There’s just so many little details about this fic I love, including but not limited to - Jack’s found family in the Joneses, Ioan-Anwen friendship, and Ioan loving blue. A definite must read fic to give you the serotonin you need.

Waking Gods by toldthestars

Why are Ianto's dreams coming true? What's in the box with the symbol on it? Oh, and while we're at it, what's the meaning of the life?

(janto | complete | not rated | 7K)

Nik: This fic is another one with a completely unique premise in this fandom. In fact, there is only one other fic I’ve read that even gives me similar “vibes” for this fic. Here, Ianto suddenly finds himself gaining powerful, unexplainable abilities, essentially becoming a god, and oh my, this is excellent. Ianto is just trying to do good in the world, and the team’s growing fear and distrust of him and his power really sucker-punches you straight in the heart. It’s all so beautifully-written, with powerful imagery that left me awe-struck. The janto angst is oh-so-excellent. Reading this fic for the first time is an experience that I don’t believe can be replicated.

fool me once, fool me twice by princessoftheworlds (aka me)

When, after the events at the House of the Dead, the Rift spits Ianto out on an alien planet a thousand years later, so begins a goose chase that will take him across the universe and across time until he finds Jack again.

(janto & others | complete | explicit | 52K)

Nik: What kind of fic writer would I be if I created a list of fic recs for Torchwood and did not include one of my own? I consider this fic my masterpiece. The House of the Dead!Ianto get sucked through the Rift and spat out across time and space, turned into another fixed point, as he begins his search for Jack. I don’t know if I can say much else without it sounding like bragging, but it features - in no particular order - a happy ending for one, Ianto getting some badass adventures of his own, a sorta redemption arc for John Hart, numerous references to Big Finish, and too many spinoffs with more to come! Give it a shot, why don’t you?

#torchwood #torchwood fic recs #janto #jack harkness #ianto jones #gwen cooper #toshiko sato #owen harper #nik's fic recs #nik's torchwood fic recs #i'll figure out an actual tag later tbh #i wrote this all out in three hours #so i spent TIME on it #hope this doesn't flop lmao cause i could have and should have been studying #three upcoming midterms #and now i'm rambling

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