#ianto jones; i take it all back but not him!

[kinnsporsche]

— Don't forget me. — Never could.

#theres something so life ruining about the fact that minutes ago jack was standing up to the 456 & threatened to lead the human race to war #against them but when faced with these odds: with the possibility of ianto dying of it being his fault of him walking him to his own death #he crumbles and he waivers and he takes it all back. hes prepared to give them anything for this one man. for him to be safe for him to LIV #and isnt that the tragedy of it all: a world hanging the balance yet you bargain for one man. bcs to you there is no world without him in i #torchwood #torchwoodedit #lgbtedit #janto #ianto jones #captain jack harkness #userspicy #userjack #usertom #userkayles #chewieblog #userbbelcher #useraurore #dailyflicks #** #flashing tw

[thetorchwoodarchive]

hi! i was wondering if you had a collection/recommendation of fics where ianto takes over the running of torchwood in jack’s absence? i love a competent ianto. alternatively, any which have ianto being indispensable to the team, as archivist or as someone with knowledge from his days at torchwood one. thanks!

Iantowood by jovialien (JackIanto, JackJohn, IantoJohn, TomMartha, GwenRhys | series, complete | 310910 | Various Ratings)

Sometimes the most horrific things can happen in your life and there is not a single thing you can do to change them.

But sometimes, just sometimes, there is...

And sometimes, just one life can change the course of so many others, if you pick the right one.

To the Sticking Place by zephyras13 (JackIanto, GwenRhys, OwenTosh, MarthaMickey | complete | 96433 | M)

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.

Drape Me In Your Warmth by princessoftheworlds (JackIanto | series | 68713 | E, Various Ratings)

Here, one moment changes, and that makes all the difference. (But it also makes no difference at all.)

Lisa Hallett dies at the Battle of Canary Wharf. Ianto Jones, Yvonne Hartman’s PA, is left the highest-ranking Torchwood operative standing. He picks up the broken pieces of his life and works with UNIT for a few years.

Jack Harkness never meets the Doctor. He never becomes a fixed point of time and space. He isn’t there to take over Torchwood Three when Alex Hopkins shoots his team and then himself.

So when Ianto Jones moves back home to Cardiff, nothing stops him from re-establishing the Torchwood Institute where in one lifetime, Torchwood Three should have stood.

Javic Thane and Ianto Jones were never meant to meet, but that won't stop them from falling for each other. A love story where even time and space couldn't keep two men apart.

What Dreams May Come by AVAAntares (JackIanto | complete | 88068 | T)

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...

#character:ianto jones #mod recs #mod:alyssa

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

i am coming home to you (if it's the last thing that i do)

Jack Harkness x Ianto Jones. During Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Angst with a Happy Ending. Crossposted on ao3. Title is from “Sax Rohmer #1″ by the Mountain Goats.

"I came back for you," Jack says, looking straight at Ianto, and Ianto's heart seizes, beating out an irregular two-part beat in his chest. Then Jack glances to the rest of the group and Ianto's heart slows back into its usual disappointed rhythm. "All of you."

Ianto is used to being overlooked by Jack. He is used to being the second one chosen. He is used to being shunned by everyone on the team since everything that happened with Lisa. He is used to being forced back into the archives in favor of Gwen's leadership after Jack's appearance. He is used to being last needed, last appreciated, last loved. Not loved at all, in fact, not since Lisa left, no matter how tight Jack hugged him after waking up in the morgue. Jack only hugged him after hugging Gwen, who insisted on sitting by his side and letting no one near- Ianto was clearly never the priority then.

Of course Jack didn't come back for him. Why would he? Ianto was the man who betrayed him and Torchwood and the bed that he once shared with Jack in an effort to keep him from finding out about Lisa. He turned everything that Jack cherished into something vile. No matter what efforts Ianto has made since then, his sacrifices during the cannibal case, him standing up to his teammates when it came to opening the rift, he cannot make up for all of the hurt he caused.

But then, in the office, Jack asks him out on a date, in a fumbling, awkward way that Ianto has never seen the good Captain ask someone out in. Normally he's the suavest person in the room; right now, he feels more authentic than he ever has, something weary in his gaze, something jumbled in his tone.

And Ianto wants to say yes- he knows he's going to say yes- but somehow his brain is scrambling faster than his mouth because the words come tumbling out: "Did you come back for me? From wherever you went?" When Jack blinks, Ianto adds, in for a penny, in for a pound, "Be honest with me, Jack. I swear I won't judge you either way."

Jack's bright gaze fixes on Ianto, steady and examining and dangerous, always dangerous, but infinitely more tender than anything Ianto's seen from him, even back when they were still sleeping together. "I saw things while I was with my Doctor," Jack says, voice a low rumble, steady but quiet. "Many things. Bad things. And they made me realize that of all of the people in my current life, you are the one I would least like to live without."

The admission punches the breath from Ianto's lungs. He was Jack's priority? His reason to return? The first thought? The one person he would least like to live without?

The truth tumbles from Ianto's mouth without inhibition, loosened by pleasant shock and a reckless bravery and some small bit of codependent love: "I believe that the feeling is mutual, sir."

Jack smirks, that confident, mistaken for arrogant thing, that charming calling card that right here, right now, belongs to Ianto Jones. "Then that's a yes on the date?"

Ianto nods. "That's a yes, sir."

Jack steps forward, presses a kiss to Ianto's cheek, and says, "I can't wait to go on a real date with you, Ianto Jones." His eyes sparkle with that mad, dangerous, gorgeous mirth as he says: "But we've gotta get rid of my ex first."

Ianto offers Jack a small, sure smirk. "Why do I have the feeling that will be a reoccurring problem?"

"You willing to put up with it, Ianto Jones?"

Ianto shrugs, some bright thing buoying his chest as he jokes, sincerity bleeding through the teasing lilt in his voice: "We've all got our baggage, sir."

Jack offers out a hand and Ianto takes it. "That we do, Ianto." He jerks his head toward the door. "And now, we run."

They take off, and that thing buoying Ianto's chest rushes from his mouth, bubbling into excited laughter as their legs pound and their muscles burn and they save the world for the hundredth time and for here, for now, Ianto gets to have Jack Harkness singularly, selfishly, in all of his mad, brave, selfless, beautiful glory.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45220966

#torchwood #janto #ao3 #jack harkness #ianto jones #happy ending #angst with a happy ending #jack x ianto #mountain goats #sax rohmer 1 #missing scene #canon divergence #kiss kiss bang bang #communication #who knew the boys were capable of it #fanfic #aletterinthenameofsanity #crossposted on ao3

[secretartquotes]

Au where Ianto's Nan is an alien and Ianto has inherited her powers or a mission goes wrong waking Ianto's dormant DNA , Jack , Owen and Toshiko try to find out what happened while Ianto and Gwen talk , search for the alien in Ianto's family tree and conclude that it is his Nan.

Canon says that Ianto's Nan is his maternal grandmother but for some reason I always thought it was his paternal, I don't know why. I realized that after I have concluded the edit so she's his paternal for the Au.

Ianto's Nan is from species that are made of energy ( think Gwen's grandma from Ben 10 , Singularity from Marvel and Karolina Dean from Runaways ). They can make it , redirect it , control it , extinguish it , ext. They live for billions of years . And since they live so long , they are encouraged to explore and experiment. To live different lives , experience them like how people from different planets would . Experiment with their gender and sexuality . More or less live life to the fullest.

Ianto's Nan , already being couple million years , headed to Earth. She crashed in Beacons , in June 1952 , leaving behind two artifacts from the neighboring galaxy. She quickly established herself , taking on the name Tanwen Morgan ( apparently the name was first used in the 60s but I couldn't help it.The name means white fire , the pun is right there ). She soon met Ianto Alun Jones and they fell in love . They married the next year and had their son . Tanwen and Ianto A. have a happy marriage, even of their lives aren't that great or their son . In 1981 Ianto A. dies , leaving her . After his death Tanwen takes the decision to live out the her of life as human . In August,1983 Ianto is born , named after his grandpa. She adores her grandson and makes sure that one day his hidden nature will show , unlike the rest of his family.

Flash forward to 2009 and the team are on a mission. It goes wrong . Jack gets killed, Owen gets captured and Ianto and Gwen get taken hostage. Eventually the already high tension escalates further, when Gwen gets fatality shot . That awakens Ianto's powers and in a trance like state, he overpowers their captors and heals Gwen . Toshiko comes , saving Owen's and with Jack goes to Gwen&Ianto. They find the captors knocked out and Gwen and Ianto free.

Gwen obviously doesn't tell the rest what happened, especially since Ianto has started to kind of panic. The rest of the team try to find out , what happened. Gwen and Ianto on the other hand talk and combine their detective skills to sis out the hidden alien in the family tree. They find out it is his Nan and Ianto comes clean . Things go as you would expect, the team go out at a restaurant and Ianto goes to sleep, dreaming of his kind and Nan's homeworld

The edit checks off prompt 7. family and kind of 10.lgbtq+ in the future or in alien societies.

The lore that Ianto's grandfather and him have the same name is entirely belongs to @ultraviolet-eucatastrophe from her fic Of Motion in Perpetuity.

I got this idea a while back after binge watching Runaways s1 and reading @dinodina 's Non-human/Alien Ianto fics , which I loved.

Hope you like this , because I murdered my eyes making this on a phone, in a car , with bumpy roads and the sun shining straight at me, all day yesterday. I have never spent so much time on an edit .Inspiration is some kind of demon.

#torchwood #ianto jones #captain jack harkness #jack harkness #gwen cooper #owen harper #toshiko sato #au #Alien!Ianto Au #13 edits for a 3rd season #torchwood 2022 pride fest #ianto when using his powers glows in the colours of the bi flag #maybe only two at a time #bit always those 3 #my edits

[mediawhorefics]

thoughts on doctor who!! echoes of previous companions always gets me good, like billie piper as The Moment

oh i have SO much to say about doctor who rip here's an incoherent rant/list of opinions !!

i'm an rtd-era supremacist so i'm DYING with excitement over his return!!! also this 14 news ??? HELLO?????????? SO SO SO EXCITED!!!!

my first doctor was 10 and he has remained my fav through and through. tho ofc i love them all in different ways. (fun fact my beta is the one who introduced me to dw back in the day)

my top three companions are donna (MY GIRL !!!!)/rose/the ponds

yes, i am in love with karen gillan and would like a spare hand in marriage ma'am

my greatest dw heartbreak is the fact that peter capaldi is one of my favourite actors and was probably the greatest ambassador for the show and i absolutely LOATHE the writing for his era.

steven moffat IS my nemesis and i hate what he did with the show. this man should have never been a showrunner. he's good with limits and boundaries and standalone.

full offence, i hate clara with a burning passion, no shade to the actress she's very talented, but everything about that character rubs me the wrong way. from the ~born to save the doctor bullshit to the has no life outside the doctor until moffat randomly decided to half-ass giving her a career to the badly written attempts at her having feelings for 11... truly, i despite this storyline so fucking much. again ship what you like but i don't get doctor/clara AT ALL. it makes me angry just thinking about it now. and she was there for SO long UGH.

my favourite series are s4 & s5 (yes i hate moffat i love s5, its complicated). also s2 because ROMANCE!!!!!

i hate moffat writing women for obvs reasons but i do love river song. highkey as much as i love matt & alex together NOTHING beats 12/river because peter capaldi said i'm playing a whole time lord in LOVE in that one episode they had together and my fucking HEART y'all. i know i have an unhealthy crush on peter capaldi but his face when he looks at her <333 it's almost as good as ten & rose's in love and utterly devoted to each other faces.

doctor/river still don't hold a candle to 10/rose obvs that shit was it. she was IT. rip to 16 yo me watching doomsday for the first time that shit fundamentally changed me as a person. where's that deancas/tenrose comparison post ?? cut me open and that's what you'll see.

i miss rtd era side characters SO much they were SO lived in and memorable and REAL and they made the show. we lost soooo much of doctor who's heart when he left.

its cringe but i ADORE torchwood despite all of its flaws. ianto jones was one of the very first bi-adjacent characters i ever connected with and he is SO dear to me. rip to my boy it's disgusting what rtd & co did to him :((( baby's first bury your gays, i was 17 and i still haven't recovered. thank god for big finish and all the quality torchwood content they produce.

speaking of big finish... if you're a who fan who hasn't tried to expended universe, i cannot recommend the 8th doctor audios enough. he is FANTASTIC and actually one of my favourite doctors. paul mcgann is INCREDIBLE in the role and it's criminal we only have the movie and that tiny one-shot for the 50th anniversary.

@ RTD JUSTICE FOR EIGHT IN THE 60TH SPECIAL

10/donna are the best tardis team end of. that tennant/tate chemistry??? CHEF'S KISS. @ rtd fix her. @ rtd bring her back. i am no longer asking !!!!

christopher eccleston is CRIMINALLY underrated. 9 deserves SO much love. i adore him. thanks @ big finish for bringing him back to me.

matt smith was the best at playing ancient. i still don't know how he did that thing with his eyes where he looked 1000 yo but wow.

cybermen are incredibly boring and i really dislike most of their eps. i'll take 50 dalek stories over cybermen ones idc.

we never should have seen the weeping angels after blink. they've lost more and more of their appeal the more their mythology has been expended on.

i still don't understand the whole silence cult vs silence species thing and at this point, i'm too afraid to ask.

some of us witnessing the andrew garfield renaissance remember frank and his 1930s fruitiness from 2007 is all i'm gonna say.

#about me #doctor who

[universe-on-her-shoulders]

I posted 7,523 times in 2022

That's 947 more posts than 2021!

297 posts created (4%)

7,226 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@azraeldoesnotdispute

@minimoefoe

@toshisato

@expelliarmus

@langernameohnebedeutung

I tagged 7,523 of my posts in 2022

#our flag means death - 602 posts

#thirteenth doctor - 547 posts

#stranger things - 478 posts

#tenth doctor - 465 posts

#torchwood - 448 posts

#clara oswald - 359 posts

#twelfth doctor - 352 posts

#art - 331 posts

#yasmin khan - 322 posts

#eleventh doctor - 303 posts

Longest Tag: 133 characters

#so it's ok for you to be totally ignorant of mine but when i ask a question about a very very specific part of yours i'm an idiot? ok

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Oh my god oh my god Ianto and Owen playing Mortal Kombat and Owen getting steamed that Ianto is beating him

“How are you doing this?” Owen demanded to know, throwing down his controller and scowling at Ianto with overt suspicion as the screen displayed the final score. “There’s no way you’re this good at Mortal Kombat. It’s not normal.”

“Admit it, Owen,” Ianto told him smugly, setting his own controller down and taking a swig of his beer. “You’ve finally found something that you’re not excellent at, and it stings, doesn’t it?”

“You’ve got to be cheating. There is no way that move is even… how did you… I don’t understand. I’ve been playing this…”

“Since dinosaurs roamed the earth. I know.”

“Fuck off. You’ve got to be cheating. Did you get Jack to modify the console with some futuristic bullshit?”

“Nope.”

“Did you get him to give you cheat codes?”

“Nope.”

“Did you get Tosh to hack the system so you always win?”

“Nope. But I did spend a large amount of my youth in arcades.”

Owen looked over at him with considerable surprise; Ianto didn’t feel the need to elaborate further. It was, after all, none of Owen’s business that he had spent sizeable chunks of his childhood trying to avoid going home, and thus the arcade, the cinema and the local shopping centre had all been regular haunts.

“How much did you play this?” Owen asked with interest. “Just so I know what I’m up against.”

“About four hours a day, every Saturday and Sunday, for about six years.”

“I’m fucked, aren’t I?”

“Utterly.”

46 notes - Posted March 7, 2022

#4

Jack finally inveigles Martha and Ianto into a Jones-sandwich (interpret how you will).

"Well," Jack beamed, looking from Ianto to Martha and back again. "This is cosy."

"No," Ianto shot back, his gaze still fixed on the menu, although Jack knew he would've already viewed it online prior to tonight, and that he'd already have chosen what he wanted to order - drinks, starters, mains, and dessert. "This is a mid-range Italian restaurant in Cardiff city centre on a Friday night. It's about the furthest from cosy that you could get."

"It's a figure of speech," Jack protested, shooting an apologetic glance at Martha, who was sipping her glass of red wine with an expression that was somewhere between serene and suspicious; she arched an eyebrow in response. "It's cosy having the three of us back together. I feel like I'm in a Jones Sandwich."

"Is that the only reason you arranged this meeting?" Ianto asked with incredulity. "Because if so, I want you to pay for my dinner as an apology for the terrible joke. And you can bet your arse that I will be ordering the lobster pasta, and four starters."

"I was going to pay anyway," Jack lied with magnanimity. Surely he could charge it as a work expense? "So go nuts. Although you don't even like lobster."

"I do when you're paying."

"Boys, not that this flirting isn't great fun to watch, but I'm presuming you invited me here for a reason other than to either third-wheel, referee any rows about the bill, or to make jokes about Jones Squared," Martha interjected, putting her wine glass down and propping her elbows on the table in a businesslike manner. "So, cut to the chase, Jack. What do you need? Or what do you want, whichever. How do you want to play this?"

"What makes you think I want something?" Jack said with an air of woundedness that he hoped very much sounded sincere.

"Because since the funerals, I haven't heard a damn thing from you, and suddenly you're in my inbox with a dinner invite. So, what do you want? Guns? Intel? State secrets?"

"I just wanted to say hi!" Jack protested, to which Martha and Ianto both raised their eyebrows. "And yeah, alright, maybe some intel..."

Martha sighed, but to his surprise she didn't stalk out of the restaurant, which he considered a definite victory. "Alright, fine. But can we pretend to be normal over antipasti first? Warm me up a bit?"

Jack grinned. "With pleasure."

46 notes - Posted November 12, 2022

#3

It's movie night at the hub, something cute and fluffy with all of our happy pairings, post exit wounds but everyone's alive - they're just trying to recoup after Gray and all the damage to the city

“Right,” Ianto said pragmatically, closing the Blu-ray player’s drawer and retreating to the beanbags that Jack had dragged out of storage and arranged artfully around the conference room. Jack himself was sat on an adjacent beanbag, and Ianto realised for the first time quite how difficult it was to snuggle while sliding about on something with the approximate texture of water. Wrinkling his nose, he shifted his a bit closer to Jack and took his hand, reassured as Jack gave it a squeeze. “Everyone ready?”

“What are we watching?” Owen asked, cracking open a beer; Ianto was amazed that he and Tosh had managed to cuddle up together on their own beanbag, but he supposed Tosh was slightly smaller than Jack, and Owen slightly less preoccupied with being uncomfortable. As he watched, Ianto handed the can to Tosh, who accepted it with a quiet murmur of thanks and took a sip with a somewhat guilty expression.

“Casino Royale. Latest Bond.”

“You and your bloody James Bond,” Owen shot back, but there was warmth in his tone, and he grinned as he spoke. “Are we just watching this because you fancy Daniel Craig?”

“No,” Ianto said, at the exact same instant that Jack answered: “Yes.” The two of them eyed each other with their eyebrows raised.

“Everyone fancies Daniel Craig,” Ianto argued, as Jack smirked. “Don’t they?”

“I don’t,” Owen pointed out magnanimously.

“You haven’t seen the film,” Tosh reminded him, then admitted: “I do.”

“I don’t,” Rhys piped up from where he was ensconced on his own beanbag with Gwen’s feet slung across his lap from her perch beside him. “But I’ll watch it for the Bond Girl.”

“Perv,” she chided, kicking him playfully in the thigh and narrowly missing his crotch. “I do. And I’ll watch it for the Bond Girl as well.”

“Now who’s the perv?”

“I think Gwen makes a great point,” Jack reasoned with a grin. “Beautiful people and guns… sort of our MO, isn’t it?”

“Rubbish guns,” Owen noted, raising his eyebrows and jerking his head towards the armoury. “Compared to ours.”

“Oh, boys, don’t start the whole ‘mine is bigger than yours’ talk,” Gwen implored them, as the Blu-ray menu finally loaded. “Let’s just perv over the beautiful people, please and thank you.”

50 notes - Posted March 9, 2022

#2

Jodie for the BAFTA edition of the Radio Times!

108 notes - Posted May 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Jodie supporting World Down Syndrome Day 2022!

195 notes - Posted March 21, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review

[littleladymab]

FebruarOC - Ianto

Way back in the day (like 2011), I was into HP. I mean, not to say "who wasn't" because some people weren't but it was like, a good portion of my experience growing up. Tragic, truly, but unlike some people I know (this isn't a subtweet to anyone here I promise) I didn't define a huge chunk of my life around it so it was easy to just rip it out. 

Ianto is my HP expy. Got him out of there in like 2014 before abandoning him so it's not like I went back to an old HP fic and went "oh no must rescue him this series is uncool now". Naw I got stuck on canon incorporation to the AU and decided to remove it then. Only then I never plotted anything. 

For the time being, "The World Listens" is listed under my A Collection of Curses project (where yesterday's Horatio is also technically from). I do love the concept a lot, and I think it will benefit from not being an AU fic, but that's a future concern to have. It would probably also be rather too long for it??

Ianto, whom I have no idea if I gave a last name to but I should just so i stop calling him Ianto Jones, was born with the coveted ability to be able to communicate with the dead. There's only two things wrong with that: 1) the ability is coveted by the Evil Government (yeah I'll have to work out the Tom Riddle as Minister of Magic expy at some point) (i HATE that series of words I just typed???) in order to corner the market on dead communications and 2) he can't actually speak to them. He can only hear them, but there's something that's blocking the transmissions going out, so to speak (badum tsss). 

Which, since this has always been the case for him, he's never really had to worry about it. He's just been able to coast by, hearing ghosts -- ghosts who KNOW that he can hear them, but it doesn't occur to them that he can't talk back. He doesn't do anything about what they're saying partially because there's no conversation happening, he can't see them, and also he's doing his damned hardest to keep his head down!! 

Eventually he meets Zoë (I'll talk about her at the end of the alphabet) who wants to start a business utilizing his abilities to communicate (well, at least listen) to the dead. Doing WHAT I don't know. From what I remember of the original plotting it just sort of became a club house they didn't actually do any business. Either way, Zoë introduces him to Shiloh, an inventor who thinks she might be able to solve Ianto's "unable to talk to the dead" problem. 

Ianto's whole arc is the reluctant hero, who was perfectly content with his lot in life even if it was kind of annoying to be talked to by things he couldn't see or talk back to and knowing that if ever he got found out it would be BAD NEWS BEARS. But then he starts to meet more of the magical community that he just never interacted with, despite being a part of, and he begins to realize that like??? He doesn't have it great all things considered but he's got it a lot better than a lot of them? 

And he meets more people like him, but in different ways! This fic was really going to be me playing with the concept of fated chosen ones (aka the really was the difference between harry and neville) and then also characters as foils (harry vs draco) in a way that was seriously lacking in the source material. As a trio, Ianto was the one that could communicate with the dead, "Draco" was the one who could see them, and "Neville" was the one who could like, touch them, for lack of a better term. He used his abilities for healing and helping ghosts move on. 

(I only have names for three of the characters I'm sorry it's been such low priority because I don't plan on working on this any time soon)

You can find the rewrite of the last scene i did up for free over on patreon. I'm just taking a huge scalpel to it in terms of what actually gets revealed here for world building because I'm just roughly cutting around the HP references, so it'll feel more flat than I could probably make it. Oops. 

#februaroc #a lil miss original #lil miss writings #the world listens #a collection of curses

[music-is-love-90]

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who & Related Fandoms Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Original Female Character(s), The Doctor/Rose Tyler | Bad Wolf, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Martha Jones/Mickey Smith Characters: The Doctor (Doctor Who), Rose Tyler, Ninth Doctor (Doctor Who), Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who), Eleventh Doctor, Original Female Character(s), Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Amy Pond (Doctor Who), Rory Williams, River Song Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, This is a rewrite of an old story, condensed into one story instead of like 5 Summary:

The tale of the Doctor and the Phoenix, last survivors of Gallifrey.

Previously published on Fanfiction.net as Never Gonna Be Alone, Savin' Me, Someday, I'd Come For You, and If Today Was Your Last Day. Edited and reworked.

Ch. 2:

Everything was set.

The flowers were perfect, the band was ready, everyone was dressed in their very best, she looked fantastic, and, best of all, at the end of the aisle waited the most perfect man in the world, ready to marry her, Donna Noble. 

Life was just about as perfect as it could get.

The organ began its famous call and Donna gave her father a nervous smile as the butterflies in her stomach doubled, tripled.  She began her march down the aisle towards her perfect future and they grew even more.  Kind of painfully.  Really painful.  Donna came to a stop as the pain grew ten times, a hundred times more painful.  The only thing she could do was scream as the world went black.

The next thing she knew, she was in an odd, dome shaped room.  She heard something behind her and spun on her heel to find a very skinny man in a pinstriped suit, next to the oddest contraption she had ever seen.

“Who are you?” she demanded.  He started sputtering, but she cut him off.  “Where am I?”

“What?”

“What the hell is this place?” Her voice started to rise. 

“What?”

She was fairly certain the man was an idiot, given how he was just staring at her.

“You can’t do that, I wasn’t even – But we’re in flight!” he exclaimed, tripping over his words.  “That is – that is physically impossible.  How did you – “

“Tell me where I am!” she demanded, cutting him off again.  “I demanded you tell me right now: where am I?”

“You’re inside the TARDIS,” he told her, looking more and more confused.

“The what?”

“The TARDIS.” He began moving around the console, taking readings.

“The what?”

“It’s called the TARDIS.”

“That’s not even a proper word!” she spat.  “You’re just saying things!”

“How did you get in here?” he demanded.

“Well, obviously when you kidnapped me!  Who was it that put you up to this, huh?  Was it Nyeris?  Is this her?  She finally getting me back?”

“Who the hell is Nyeris?” he demanded, completely mystified.

“Your best friend,” she replied, sneering at him.

He looked her up and down.

“Hold on, wait a minute.  Why are you dressed like that?”

“I’m going ten pin bowling,” she said snarkily, motioning to her white gown and veil.  “What do you think, dumbo?!  I’m getting married!  I was half-way up the aisle!  I’m gonna have the police on you!  Me and my husband, as soon as he is my husband, are going to sue the pants off you!”

As she was ranting, she spotted doors to the side of the room and took off, ignoring his shout to wait.  She flung them open, only to be brought short by the sight of a nebula in deep space. 

The Doctor calmly walked up behind her, silently asking the TARDIS if she would get Lily to the control room somehow.

“You’re in space,” he told the other woman calmly.  “Outer space.   This is my…spaceship.  It’s called the TARDIS.”

“How am I breathing?” she asked.

“The TARDIS is protecting us.”

“Who are you?” she asked finally.

“I’m the Doctor,” he replied simply.

“Donna.”

“Human?” he asked, looking at her.

“Yeah.  Is that optional?”

“Well, it is for me.” He turned back to the open doors.

“You’re an alien.”

It wasn’t a question, but he answered anyway.

“Yeah.”

They stood in silence, observing the turn of the universe.

“It’s freezing with these doors open,” Donna said finally, rubbing her arms.

The Doctor gave her a look and quickly closed them before running back to the console.

“I don’t understand this,” he said, quickly moving around the console, “and I understand everything.  This, this can’t be happening.  There is no way a human being can lock itself on and beam itself into the TARDIS.”  He grabbed an ophthalmoscope and started looking at her.  “Impossible.  Some sort of subatomic connection?  Something in the temporal field?  Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell.  Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix.  Maybe a genetic – “

Donna slapped him.

“What was that for?” he demanded, recoiling in shock.

“GET ME TO THE CHURCH!”

“Right!” he yelled back, dropping the device and moving back the console.  “Fine!  I don’t want you here anyway.  Where is this church?”

“Saint Mary’s, Paytor Road, Cheswick, London, England, Earth, The Solar System!”

Donna spotted a woman’s jacket hanging over one of the corrals and grabbed it, brandishing it at him.

“I knew it!” she sneered.  “Acting all innocent.  I’m not the first!  How many women have you abducted?”

It took a moment for the Doctor to figure out what she was waving in his face, but his eyes grew cold when he realized it was Rose’s jacket.  It had been an unspoken agreement between him and Lily.  She didn’t mention the jacket that still lay where Rose had thrown it that last day and he didn’t mention the leather jacket that had gone missing from the wardrobe. 

After all, they were both grieving in their own way.

“That’s my friend’s.” he told the newcomer, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

“Well, where is she?” Donna demanded mockingly.  “Popped out for a spacewalk?”

“She’s gone.”

“Gone where?”

The Doctor tried to look away from the jacket, but he couldn’t seem to make himself actually do it.

“I lost her.”

Donna opened her mouth to respond, but they were both distracted by the sound of breaking china.  The Doctor turned to see Lily in the doorway, growing paler by the second as she stared at the other woman.

“Donna?”

The three of them stared at each other. 

“What?” the Doctor demanded, looking between them.

~.~

Ten minutes earlier

Lily had wandered away from the music room in search of a cup of coffee.  She was fairly certain the Doctor had snuck back to Earth while she was sleeping one night to get her some, given he only drank tea.  He never mentioned it, it just appeared one morning, and she couldn’t help but think it was very sweet of him.  She was almost done when she felt the TARDIS nudge her.  She was used to her TARDIS in her Universe doing the same thing when the Doctor needed her, so she sighed.

“So, what did he do this time?” she asked the ship, leaning against the counter as she stirred her coffee.  “Cross two wires and set himself on fire again?”

The time ship nudged harder and Lily sighed again.

“Alright, I’m coming.” she said, heading out the door.  “But he better be dying.”

She made her way towards the control room, noting that the TARDIS had rearranged to make it a straight shot.

“Must actually be serious,” she muttered.

She entered the room and froze, the cup slipping from her hand.  What she was seeing couldn’t be true.

“Donna?” she whispered.

She vaguely heard the Doctor say something before she felt her legs give out, but she never felt herself hit the ground as the memories overtook her.  Flashes of one of the worst days of her life, flowing through her mind, unrelenting.  She couldn’t make it stop, even as she felt her power slipping through her grasp.

She was losing control.

~.~

Now the Doctor was even more confused.  Lily had been slowly telling him of her life before she joined him, and Donna Noble had featured heavily in many of those stories.  Lily Carter’s best friend, a firebrand and braver than anyone she knew.  He knew she had died and that it had been awful for Lily, but he didn’t know much beyond that.  But it wasn’t the fact that she was alive in this universe that confused him.  No, it was trying to reconcile the kind, funny, empathetic woman Lily had told him about with the woman who had just slapped him!

None of that mattered, though, when he saw Lily fall.  He managed to get to her fast enough to keep her from hitting her head and he saw that, while her eyes were open, she was not seeing him.

“Lily?” he called, shaking her slightly, but she didn’t respond.

“See, I was right!” Donna crowed.  “Where did you pick her up?  Disney World?  Probably doing all sorts of freaky alien things to her!  She definitely looks like she’s on – “

“Donna shut up!” the Doctor yelled, surprising the woman into silence.  Content that she would stay quiet, the Doctor turned his attention back to the woman in his arms.  “Lily, can you hear me?”

There was no response.  She didn’t seem aware of anything that was happening around her, too deep in her own mind to notice him.  What was even more troubling was the gold flooding her eyes. 

He knew she had power, that the Vortex still lived inside her, and it looked like she was losing control.  Who knew what a release of that kind of power would do to the TARDIS, much less him and Donna?  There was no other option.

The Doctor laid Lily on the grating, taking her face between his hands as he entered her mind.

Every where he looked, there was chaos.  Lily’s memories were a jumbled mess, trapping her inside her mind.  As he moved through them, it became easier to distinguish what was from before she had met his counterpart and what came after.  He saw familiar places and familiar faces that he tried to not look too hard at, trying to find the path to the memory that she was trapped inside.  As he moved deeper, he saw more and more death as her memories turned darker and darker, giving him an idea of exactly why his counterpart had been willing to risk everything to send her to him.

No one should have had to endure this much darkness, much less someone as bright and kind as Lily Carter.

Finally, he located the memory Lily couldn’t escape and he entered it.

The room was clearly of Dalek design, sparce and unfeeling, and in the center was a table with a young woman strapped to it.  Her red hair was matted, and she had clearly been tortured, as blood still flowed from many of her wounds.  Some of the wounds seem half healed, while others were very fresh.

She had obviously been here for a while.

The door opened and Lily ran in.  She took a moment to assess her situation before running to the table and starting to undo the straps.

“Lily.”

The younger woman paused what she was doing at the whisper, grabbing her friend’s hand and holding it tightly.

“Hey, girlie,” she said gently.  “How you doing?”

Donna chuckled weakly and blood dribbled from the side of her mouth.

“I…I’ve been better.”

Lily laughed softly.

“Well, don’t you worry.  We’re gonna get you out of here and get you back to the Doctor.  He’s gonna fix you up, good as new.”

The forced cheerfulness sounded so brittle in the air.

“You shouldn’t have come,” Donna protested.  “The baby – “

“Would never forgive me if I didn’t come after their Aunt Donna,” Lily interrupted.  “So, stop distracting me so I can save your sorry ass.”

She squeezed her friend’s hand and let go, returning to the straps. Finally, they were done, and Lily wrapped her arm around Donna’s waist to help her up.  They only made it about halfway to the door before Donna collapsed to her knees, vomiting blood all over the floor.  Lily tried to get her up, but they just slipped in the blood.  Lily pulled her into her arms as more of her wounds reopened and the blood surrounding them grew even more.

“Lily…”

“Shh.  You’re gonna be fine,” Lily comforted her, stroking her hair.  “You’ll see.  Everything’s going to be fine.”

“Lily, I’m sorry.”

Lily started to cry as Donna weakly took her hand and pulled it up to her chest.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she told her friend fiercely.

“I didn’t tell them anything,” Donna whispered.  “I kept you safe.  I kept the baby safe.”

“I know you did.” Lily was sobbing now.  “I never doubted it for a moment.”

“Don’t…don’t blame yourself,” Donna said, growing weaker by the moment.  “I wouldn’t…have traded it for the world.  Tell…the Doctor…tell him…he better keep you two safe…”

“I will,” Lily assured her.  “And I will make sure my little girl knows she had the best aunt in the universe.”

Donna smiled softly.

“You’re…you’re my best friend, Lils,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.  “Love…yo…”

And she was gone.

Lily stared at her, her face slack in shock.  She pulled Donna’s body to her, rocking her slowly as the body slowly began to cool.  A little while after that, the air began to change.  Where there had been stillness, electricity now crackled.

And Lily’s eyes turned pure gold.

The scene faded for a moment before resetting and the Doctor realized Lily was stuck in a loop, reliving the death of her best friend.  A woman who now stood in their ship with no idea of who Lily was.

He pulled back slightly and saw that Lily’s eyes in the real world will also gold.

She was losing control, reacting to the memory of one of the worst days of her life.  He could tell she was fighting, trying to push the memory back, but she couldn’t do that and keep control of her power.  So, he dove back in, fighting through her trauma to help her lock the memory away.  It wasn’t perfect, and she would need to deal with it eventually, but it was the best option for the moment.  As his mind joined with hers, he felt something he hadn’t felt in centuries: the comfort of another mind.  He had been so alone for so long that he couldn’t help but bask in the comfort of someone else to reach out to, settling into the hole the Time Lords had left.

He helped her push the memory back and reluctantly pulled away to find her eyes finally seeing him.

Thank you.

He could have wept at the sound of another voice in his head.

I know I should have asked, he told her sheepishly, but there didn’t seem to be any time.

He felt her smile more than he saw it.

I prefer to be alive, rather than all of us dead, so it’s probably best you didn’t wait for permission.

Still.

He started to pull away, but she grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her.

For the future, you have permission to enter my mind any time you think it necessary, she told him.  I trust you.

He felt a feeling rush through him that he hadn’t felt in so long.

Belonging.

She might be in a human body, but Lily Carter was a Time Lord at heart, which meant he wasn’t alone anymore.

He smiled softly and nodded.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?”

Lily stifled a sob and the Doctor pulled her into his arms, ignoring the other woman completely.

“Will you be alright?” he asked softly, and Lily hesitated for a moment before nodding.  “She isn’t your Donna,” he warned.

“I know,” she whispered.  “I’ll manage.”

He nodded, getting to his feet and holding his hand out to help her up.  When she was on her feet, he squeezed her hand before letting go and heading to the console.

“Did he kidnap you too?” Donna demanded, walking towards Lily.

The other woman swallowed thickly, looking anywhere other than the red head.

“No,” she told her softly, resisting the urge to either run away or throw her arms around the other woman.  “He’s…protecting me.  He’s my friend.” She glanced at him and saw him smile warmly, giving her strength.  “I had something happen to me and he gave me a soft place to land.  He’s one of the good guys.”

“Well, I don’t need protection,” Donna said with a sniff.  “Get me to the church!”

“Right,” the Doctor said grumpily.  “Chiswick.”

He threw the TARDIS into flight and Lily grabbed the railing, hanging on for dear life.

“Doctor, I take it back!” she yelled.  “I’m pretty sure you’re trying to kill me!”

“It’s not me!” he yelled back.

“You always say that!” she shouted without thinking and winced.  “I imagine, I mean.  I think she’s starting to take offense!”

“What do you want from me?!”

“I want to make it to London without throwing up!”

“Well, talk to her!”

“She’s your ship!” Lily shot back.  “You talk to her!”

“WILL YOU TWO STOP TALKING LIKE THE SHIP’S ALIVE!” Donna screamed at them from where she was holding on for dear life.

They both turned to stare at her.

“But – but she is!” the Doctor sputtered, looking a bit like a child who had just been told that Santa wasn’t real.

“It’s a ship.” She told him slowly, as if speaking to a simpleton.

“Yes, but she’s grown, not made.” The Doctor explained excitedly.  “TARDISs are sentient.”

The TARDIS chose that moment to touch down, throwing them all to the ground.  Faster than anyone could have thought possible in a floor length gown, Donna was up and through the doors.  As she looked around, she realized they were nowhere near a church. 

The Doctor and Lily followed her out and she rounded on them.

“I said St. Mary’s!” she shouted at them.  “What sort of Martian are you?”

The Doctor had already turned his attention away from her and towards the TARDIS.

“It’s like something’s wrong with her,” he said to no one in particular as he stroked the side of the shell.  “It’s almost like she’s…RECALIBRATING!”  He ran back inside and straight to the console.  “She’s digesting!”

Lily knew he was talking to her, but she was more interested in watching Donna’s reaction to the outside of the TARDIS.  It was almost physically painful to watch this woman have the same reaction as dead woman she had loved more than almost anyone while having her face and not being her.  Lily was caught between wanting to rage at her for the sin of not being her Donna, while wanting to gather her in her arms and never let go.

“Who’s this man you’re marrying?” the Doctor called as Donna took off down the alley.  “Are you sure he’s human?  Hasn’t got a zipper on his forehead, does he?”  He poked his head out and saw only Lily.  “Where is she?”

She just pointed at Donna’s retreating figure.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Lily met his eyes and he saw the pure grief there and he nodded.

“Come on,” he said, exiting the TARDIS and holding out his hand.  “We can’t let her get too far before we figure out what’s going on.”

Lily nodded and took his hand, letting him pull her after Donna.

“Donna…” he called as they caught up.

“Leave me alone!  I just want to get married!”

“Donna, just come back to the TARDIS,” he insisted.

“No way,” she said, shaking her head.  “That box is too weird.”

Lily smiled at that and the Doctor squeezed her hand.

“It’s bigger on the inside, that’s all,” he told the other woman, as if this explained everything.

“Oh!” she rounded on him, staring at him.  “That’s all?”  She glanced at her watch and groaned.  “Ten past three!  I’m gonna miss it!”

“Can’t you phone them?” Lily asked.  “Tell them where you are?”

“How do I do that?” Donna sneered at her, motioning to her dress.

“Oh, right.” Lily agreed sheepishly.  “Mobile phone’s probably not a big consideration with a wedding dress.”

“Why not?” the Doctor asked, confused.

“I don’t have pockets!” Donna screeched at him.  “Have you ever seen a bride with pockets?  You know what the one thing I forgot at my fitting at Chez Allison?  You know what I forgot to say?  I forgot to say GIVE ME POCKETS!”

“This man you’re marrying, what’s his name?” the Doctor asked.

Donna’s whole personality changed.

“Lance,” she told him dreamily.

“Good luck, Lance.”

Lily elbowed him in the side.

“Oi! No stupid Martian is going to stop me from getting married,” she yelled at him, walking away again.  “The hell with you!”

“I’m – I’m not from Mars,” he called after her.

“Well,” Lily said, linking her arm with the Doctor’s, “she may not be my Donna, but I can tell you that you might as well give up now.  She’s never going to care.”

The Doctor just shook his head, leading her down the road after the other woman.

They caught up with Donna as she tried to hail a cab and had no luck.  Lily stood back and watched as the Doctor tried to help and had no better luck.

“Why aren’t they stopping?” he demanded, confused.

“They think I’m in fancy dress,” Donna replied, annoyed.  Another driver drove by, yelling for her to lay off the sauce.  “They think I’m drunk!” And yet another told her she wasn’t fooling anyone.  “They think I’m in drag!”

For a moment, Lily thought Donna might give chase to that one.

“Both of you, stop,” she ordered, stepping out to the curb. 

She put her fingers to her lips and let out an ear-piercing whistle.  A moment later, three cabs had stopped.

“Et voila,” she said as they approached the nearest.  “Perks of growing up in New York.”

“You couldn’t have done that earlier?” the Doctor groused as they got in.

“I was enjoying watching you try.” She shot back with a cheeky grin.

He shook his head, a slight smile passing over his face.  Donna was giving the driver the directions when he informed them that it would be double, due to it being Christmas and all.

“Oh my god.  Have you got any money?”

“Um, no.  Haven’t you?”

“Pockets, Doctor,” Lily said, rubbing her temples.

They quickly found themselves back on the street.  The Doctor got Donna situated with a nearby payphone before taking Lily’s hand and leading her over to stand in line for a cash point.  Lily smiled as the Doctor shifted his weight, clearly impatient.

“Would you like me to distract him?” she asked with a smirk.

The Doctor took in her loose sweatshirt and jeans with an arched eyebrow and she smacked his arm playfully.

“Rude.”

The Doctor’s expression fell, and he swallowed, turning away from her.  A moment later, he felt her hand slip into his, squeezing it tightly.  He squeezed back, taking comfort from the fact that he wasn’t alone.

Finally, the man left, and Lily angled her body to block The Doctor as he used the sonic screwdriver to get some cash out of the machine.

“You know, stealing is a crime.” She teased as they walked away.

“What are you going to do, turn me in?” he shot back, swinging her arm.  “Oh, officer!  My Time Lord friend here just stole money from the cash machine using his amazing sonic screwdriver.  Yeah, that’s going to work.”

Lily wrinkled at his attempt at mimicking her accent.

“I do not sound like that.”  The Doctor just smirked at her.  “I do not!”

They arrived back at the road to see Donna getting in a taxi.

“Thanks for nothing!” she shouted, slamming the door shut.

Lily sighed, shaking her head, but the Doctor was distracted by a band of Santas playing nearby.  He looked back at Donna and Lily caught his look.

“What is it?” she asked.

“The band…”

The taxi carrying Donna drove past them and they saw one of the Santas driving.

“DONNA!”

He grabbed her hand and started pulling her back.

“What’s happening?”

“I’ve seen those Santas before,” he told her, looking for an escape.  “Last Christmas, when I regenerated.”

“I think I remember that story,” she said, backing away.  “Pilot fist to the Sicorax’s shark, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Just to confirm, this isn’t the same Christmas, right?”

“Just how bad a driver was your Doctor?”

Lily just smirked as the band started to head their way.  The Doctor quickly began looking for an escape route and spotted the cash machine they had just used.  He pointed his screwdriver at it and cash spewed out of it, driving the crowd into a frenzy, and allowing them to slip away in the confusion.

They ran back to the TARDIS and the Doctor quickly put them into flight.

“So, why do they want Donna?” Lily asked, holding on for dear life.

“No idea,” the Doctor replied, flipping a switch.  “This didn’t happen in your universe?”

Lily shook her head.

“We met her when her temp job was attacked by Cybermen.”

Spark flew as the TARDIS tried to shake herself apart.

“Behave!” the Doctor shouted, hitting the console.

“She doesn’t seem to like it when you do that!” Lily called.

“Yes, well, she can complain later.  Right now, she can do as I say!”

They flew down the motorway, tracking Donna and only hitting a few cars as they went.  The Doctor motioned for Lily to take over and she quickly took his place at the console.

“When I say, pull the lever!”

She nodded and he ran to the doors, flinging them open to find them next to the cap carrying Donna.

“Open the door!” he screamed at her.

“Do what?” she screamed back.

“Open the DOOR!”

Donna tried the handle, but it wouldn’t budge.

“I can’t!  It’s locked!”

The Doctor pointed the sonic screwdriver and the window opened.

“Santa’s a robot,” she told him dryly.

“Donna, opened the door!” The Doctor ordered.

“What for?”

“You’re going to have to jump!”

“I’m not jumping, I’m supposed to be getting married!”

The RoboSanta sped up at that moment, leaving the TARDIS behind.

“Now!” the Doctor shouted.

Lily pulled the lever and they pulled level with the car again.  The Doctor stumbled at the TARDIS jerked forward but he managed to use the sonic screwdriver to disable RoboSanta.

“You’ve got to jump!” he told the red head.

“I’m not jumping on a motor way!”

The Doctor sighed.

“Look, whatever that thing is, it needs you.  And whatever it needs you for, it’s not good.  Now, come on!”

“I’m in my wedding dress!”

“Yes, you look lovely.  Come on!”

Donna opened the door with a groan.  Looking down at the road flying by beneath them and back up to the Doctor, she shook her head.

“I can’t do it!”

The Doctor went still.

“Trust me,” he said, just loud enough for her to hear.

“Is that what you said to her?” she demanded.  “Your friend, the one you lost.  Did she trust you?”

“Yes, she did,” the Doctor replied, his face hard.  “And she is not dead, she is so alive, now, JUMP!”

Donna hesitated for a moment longer and then threw herself out of the car.  She landed in the TARDIS on top of the Doctor as the doors slammed shut.

“Time to go!” Lily called, pressing the necessary buttons to take them away from there.

#Doctor Who #TV: DW #Fanfiction #The Doctor #The Tenth Doctor #OC #The Doctor x OC #The Tenth Doctor x OC #Donna Nobel

[theorphaninthetardis]

Chapter Forty

About twenty minutes, and a lot of conversation, later, the Doctor and Jack exit the water, water dripping from their hair. Behind them a brown-orange alien follows. His skin looks pretty rubbery, and he seems a bit frightened. The Doctor turns to the alien, and makes a strange sound, and Sophie assumes she's speaking in the alien's language.

Once the conversation is over, Jack stands with the alien, while the Doctor jogs up to the group. Before the Time Lady can say anything, Sophie begins, "When is the TARDIS gonna start translating again."

The Doctor smiles, "The Old Girl should be feeling at her best again, don't you worry." Ianto reaches into the van, and hands her a towel. She nods her thanks, immediately dragging the towel through her hair. "Right, everyone meet Svegx. He's a bit nervous, but a new environment will do that to you. I told him that my friends are really nice."

"Alright Doc, we'll be on our best behaviours," Graham says. He then turns to the others around him, "Right, guys?"

Everyone immediately nods in agreement, Gwen elbowing Owen in the ribs, "Could do with a smile there."

He plasters a half smile on his face, and the Doctor shrugs, "Yeah, close enough." She waves Jack and Svegx forward.

Jack grins, "Did everyone behave?" he asks, looking at Sophie.

"Oh, absolutely, we all got along really well. We bonded over our losses."

Jack looks a bit concerned for a moment, but does his best to mask it. Ianto hands him the other towel, and walks around the van to get the Captains clothes. His eyes land on the Vortex Manipulator, and he practically purrs as he grabs it. He doesn't waste a second wrapping the leather strap around his wrist. "Don't forget to introduce our new friend, Doctor."

The Gallifreyan rolls her eyes, but gestures to Svegx. Sophie expects to hear the same unintelligible words, but instead the Doctor speaks in English. "Svegx, I'd like you to meet my mates. Graham, Yaz, Ryan, Sophie, Owen, Ianto, Gwen, and Tosh. Fam, this is Svegx."

Everyone waves awkwardly at the alien, not entirely sure how to respond. They don't want to spook the being, but also don't want to seem aloof to him either. "So, are we taking him back to Huantido then?" Yaz asks, while smiling at Svegx.

"That's the plan," the Time Lady responds, but turns to look at Graham and Ryan, "If it's alright with you two."

Ryan glances at Graham, and Graham looks at his grandson, almost as if in sync they both nod their heads, "Works for us," Ryan states, confidently.

"Right, then back to the Torchwood hub it is then. We'll pick up the TARDIS, and drop off Svegx." The Doctor takes a deep breath, then meets her companions eyes, "Then I'll take you back to 2020, and drop you two off at home."

Graham nods curtly, "Long as you you don't break any chairs."

"You break one chair, and that's all that's brought up."

"Makes perfect sense to me," Sophie smiles. "Why do you go around breaking people's furniture. What did Graham's chair ever do to you, eh?"

The Doctor rolls her eyes, "I said, best behaviour."

She presses her hands to her chest, looking indignant, "This is my best behaviour."

Jack laughs, not even trying to hid it. The Doctor shoots him a look, and he looks chagrined, for maybe a moment, before smiling, and winking at Sophie. "Let's get Svegx home, alright?"

The group piles into the van, and Owen once again hops behind the wheel.

***

The trip back to Torchwood seems to go by faster than the trip on the way there. Their alien guest is sitting in the back beside the Doctor and Ianto Jones. He seems quite nervous still, as they climb out of the van. Jack leads the group back into the Hub.

He takes his great coat off, tossing it onto one of the desks. He leans against a desk, "Home sweet home, eh?" He addresses his crew.

"Not exactly," Gwen smiles, moving past the Captain, "But that is where I'm going." She swings her bag over her shoulder. As she walks past the Time Lady she smiles, "It was nice seeing you again, Doctor?"

"You too," the Doctor waves her off.

One by one the rest of the Torchwood crew leaves, each of them giving the Doctor a farewell. Once they're all gone, the Doctor walks up toward her TARDIS, "Well, this is it." She opens the doors, ushering Svegx inside, her companions following. Jack pulls the Gallifreyan into a hug, and she presses a kiss to his cheek, "Behave."

He smiles, "Never."

The Time Lady rolls her eyes, and Sophie sidles up to the other side, wrapping an arm around her waist. The Doctor proceeds to practically encircle the woman, holding her tightly, "I think I'll miss you most of all, scarecrow."

"But there's no place like home, Doc, and you gotta get Svegx back to his. I'll see you again, I'm sure."

The Doctor smiles, before walking into her ship, the doors closing behind her. Jack walks over to Sophie, wrapping an arm around her waist, and the TARDIS vanishes in front of them both.

"So?" she asks, turning to look at Jack, "Are you gonna give me a lift home, or do I need to hail a cab, or take the bus?"

Jack rolls his eyes, "C'mon."

#Doctor Who #Doctor Who fanfiction

[kinnsporsche]

ianto jones’ death in 2009 did irrevocable damage to my psyche that i still haven’t healed from sorry about it

#just had a sobbing breakdown over jack yelling 'theN I TAKE IT ALL BACK BUT NOT HIM!!!' when ianto's dying bye #cause of mental illness: ianto's death #torchwood #ianto jones

[cxptained-archived]

I rise from the dead to write some janto cute for @blipintiime​.

                        Torchwood don’t stray  F A R  from Cardiff. They’re quite content with their little pocket of the universe that seems to have more problems than anywhere else on earth, thank you very much. Cardiff and its surrounding areas at a push. SWANSEA, maybe? Either way. Never far. Never for long. 

Until tonight. It’s not a full team mission. It might be. The others are on back up - though lord knows if the M4 was anything to go by it would take them hours to get here if they called - but primarily they’re on their own. Not a problem for them, of COURSE. Torchwood is still Torchwood no matter the quantity. However, Jack and Ianto have found themselves nestled somewhere in the flatlands of Norfolk. It’s not too unlike Wales. There’s a  s i m i l a r  amount of sheep. It’s quite a lot flatter though. And the sign posts aren’t in two languages. 

Safe to say though, Norfolk isn’t somewhere close to Wales. No, it finds itself on the opposite side of the United Kingdom in fact. Far, far away from their beds. Not to worry, because Jack’s booked them a room in a LOVELY bed and breakfast nearby to their mysterious alien sightings.

It’s late when the two of them traipse in that night. They’ve been on the hunt for their suspected creature, on their feet, tracing signs and signals galore but as of yet... no luck. All Jack really wants to go to bed and rest. He’s  i m m o r t a l.  Doesn't need to sleep to survive but recently his body has gotten used to sleeping more nights often than not with his partner. He finds his body has fallen into SOMEWHAT of a pattern, requiring to go to bed at a certain time of night each and every night. It’s nice, almost. 

So Jack checks them in, ignoring the look the elderly woman on the desk seems to give them. Out in the countryside their opinions probably  D I F F E R.  Twenty first century humans and their aversion to anything slightly out of the norm. Just because two guys are sharing one bed doesn’t mea--

As the door swings open, Jack’s train of thought promptly comes to an end.

                                                 Oh.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Right.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                    That’s why she was staring at them.

Jack already KNOWS this is the last time he gets to do anything organisational before a mission away. Before them, in this quaint little cottage style hotel is one singular, somehow smaller than their original bed in the Hub, bed. It’s  T I N Y,  made up with a lovely looking duvet he must admit and what could possibly be the comfiest, most   e n t i c i n g  looking mattress he’s EVER seen.

                         “Well.” Jack starts as he cocks an eyebrow. A slight wiggle of the head in what seems to be deliberation as he drops his rucksack onto the ground. “Time to cosy up?” He says, gaze turning to Ianto quite quickly. Jack has very little problems with this scenario - of course. 

A wink and Jack’s already taking off his coat and slinging it HAPHAZARDLY over the chair in the corner of the room. He’s sure he can feel Ianto’s eye roll burn into the back of his head while his back is turned. It’s a cute place though, they  h a v e  to admit. Wooden floorboards and beams running across the ceiling. A tiny window with shutters on the outside and a quaint armchair with a lovely lace cushion to match. It’s sweet. 

The captain sits on the edge of the bed and kicks off his shoes. He’s not tidy at the best of times but when he’s TIRED, he’s almost ten times worse. Those shoes stay wherever they’ve landed. Jack will find them in the morning. And instead his fingers will find the buttons of his shirt. 

                       “Takes me back to the OLD days.” He says, the way someone would start a story that took place perhaps a decade ago. Jack however is talking only a couple of months. He refers to   T H E I R  old bed. Jack’s tiny quarters inside the Hub, only really made for one. They’d moved to a bigger room a little while ago now. A normal double bed available and enough room to live comfortably as a pair. It had signified the beginning of a PROPER relationship if nothing else. 

Once Jack is undressed, deciding to spend the night simply in his boxers - he lays himself down. He watches as Ianto approaches the bed, and see’s the way his boyfriend attempts to formulate a PLAN. The cogs are visible as they whir in his brain and try to find the best way to fit themselves in this bed. After a few moments Jack becomes impatient. 

A hand sticks out from the bed, fingers wrapping around Ianto’s wrist and with a swift TUG, pulls the younger man on top of him completely. Jack grins up at his welshman, eyes lighting up mischievously despite the exhaustion behind them. It takes a  m o m e n t  more of wriggling before Jack has to the duvet comfortably on top of them both.

                       “Seemed like it was the ONLY way, don’t you think?” Jack teases lightly. 

This is not the first time the two had navigated a too small bed. The Hub had provided it’s challenges for the first month or so of their relationship. The two are more than USED to these kinds of sleeping arrangements 

They chat for a while. A few quips here and there about Jack’s LACK of ability to do much of anything right unless it’s taking down an alien species. Jack watches the way that Ianto’s eye crinkle at the edges as he smiles. Takes in the way his eyes shine in such the brightest of blues. Feels how Ianto’s heart beats in TANDEM with his own as the welshman lays across his chest. 

After a while, the pair have grown silent. The lights have been turned off and there’s little movement from the man on top of him.

                       “Asleep?” Jack whispers into the darkness. He wouldn’t be surprised if he were.

“No.” Ianto answers in return. Jack feels his head shift against his shoulder, obviously looking up towards his partner in some capacity. 

                       BLINDLY, the captain moves his hand slowly, until fingers connect with soft skin of Ianto’s cheek. He slides them across gently,  e n c o m p a s s i n g  his boyfriend's face after a moment and drawing him in.

The kiss that follows is soft and tender. Lips graze against each in what feels like slow motion as they take breaths at the PERFECT moments and meet once again without confusion. Jack, in the dark, can take every moment to simply memorise how Ianto FEELS against his body rather than how he looks.

                                   THOUGH THAT’S PRETTY PERFECT TOO.

There’s a weight against his chest of Ianto’s body on top of his own that grounds him so perfectly. Their legs have TANGLED together without meaning too. Jack’s arms have found themselves crossed and draped over his boyfriend’s back. Once they break apart as a gently as they have come together, Ianto’s hair  t i c k l e s  Jack’s nose as his head goes down, and there’s a nose that doesn’t belong to him, pushed into the crook of his neck. 

Jack will, in his DARKEST moments, remember this night. 

And, as he feels the Welshman grow a little heavier against him as sleep takes a hold, he will remember not what it felt like to LOVE Ianto Jones - but what it felt like to be loved BY him. 

                                               A perfect man.

                                                                                               HIS perfect man. 

#blipintiime; i spent my whole life running then one day all of the sudden there was you #janto; can we maybe drop the 'sir' now? #ianto jones; i take it all back but not him! #self; used to be a poster boy when i was a kid

[thetorchwoodarchive]

Hey :) I was wondering if you knew about any stories with season 5/6 characters because I have a hard time finding any

Here you go! Also check out the “continuity” section of our tag library. We have tags related to individual episodes of Aliens Among Us and Gods Among Us. And tags related to individual characters (Orr, Tyler Steele, etc) under our character tags!

when colchester met javic thane by princessoftheworlds (JackTyler | complete | 881 | T)

Colchester and Tyler finds themselves face-to-face with one Javic Thane; Colchester cannot tolerate him, but he doesn't expect the consequences of his actions.

once upon a fever dream by fitzroysquare (Gen | complete | 829 | Not Rated)

Torchwood Three is back up and running, protecting the inhabitants of Cardiff from the Sorvix, but an exploded Hub and embezzled funds mean a new source of money is needed. Which is why Gwen decides to sell Jack to One Direction.

(I am so sorry.)

From the Dust Returned by Paycheckgurl (JackIanto, OwenTosh | WIP | 12578 | T)

Ianto, Owen, and Toshiko are back…but things are not the same as they were. Team Torchwood tries to adjust to new coworkers, the march of time, and their new hardware while a mysterious computer virus harms more than just computers.

only human after all by Antonia_Simmons (ColchesterColin | complete | 3619 | T)

Just Nearly Boiling Over for a Knock at the Door by MockingHawke (ColchesterColin | complete | 464 | Not Rated)

The world almost seemed like it was going to end. Colin Colchester-Price knew it couldn't. Because his husband didn't call him to say that he was coming over. And sure, Colin lost a bit of faith in that for a moment but once more, his husband came through. Now... if only he could show up... before tomorrow...

forever is the sweetest con by fitzroysquare (JackIanto, OwenTosh | complete | 5784 | G)

Attacked by dream crabs, Jack is stuck in a reality where Ianto Jones is still alive. He should probably know by now that some things really are just too good to be true.

what i wouldn't give by princessoftheworlds (TylerHasan | complete | 6446 | T)

Sighing, he tells Hasan, “You’re going to like it here. You’ll see phenomena beyond your wildest dreams and meet aliens you could never have imagined, but it’ll be worth it, I promise.”

“Thank you,” Hasan says, his smile genuine. And Tyler’s heart flutters slightly, but he tightens his grasp on it. Last night, those weeks he’d spent trailing Hasan over the city and then in the warehouse, he’d been attracted to Hasan, had lusted after him, but there’d been a point where some of that desire had softened, had turned to hazier, warmer feelings he’d been too afraid to name.

Tyler can’t afford that again, because for all he swore only moments previous that Torchwood had turned him into a believer, that cynicism is still there, that cynicism and the fear that Tyler could take something, take someone, wonderful like Hasan and raze it to the ground.

And Hasan doesn’t deserve that. Nor does Tyler deserve Hasan.

When Hasan suddenly resurrects from the grave, Tyler finds himself facing an unexpected emotional quandary - falling in love.

standing in the shadow of a ghost by princessoftheworlds (ColchesterColin, JackIanto | complete | 8236 | T)

Ianto Jones may be gone now, but he still remains a phantom in Torchwood and in Jack Harkness's life.

or: The members of the re-formed Torchwood Three reflect on Jack Harkness and the phantom(s) in his life. As it turns out, even in death, Ianto Jones can't leave Jack alone

A Torchwood Welcome by Princessoftheworlds (ColchesterColin | complete | 1023 | T)

Colchester starts his new job at Torchwood Three and gets his first impressions of Gwen Cooper and Jack Harkness.

Fleeting Memory by Paycheckgurl (JackIanto, Gwen&Jack | WIP | 6826 | Not Rated)

Jack is retconned for the greater good. He doesn’t see it that way.

#character:orr #character:alt Yvonne hartman #character:tyler steele #character:st John colchester #canon:the story continues #character:colin colchester

[greta275]

I don’t understand why some peopple are so convinced that the 13th Doctor could save Ianto. Like, yes, obviously she could find a way and it would be extra cool if it happened, but also, it’s not something only she can do. Like, they could make a sort of special or short film on the side, take the events from House of the Dead (maybe putting them in short flashbacksto explain what happened to those who haven’t listened to it) and throw Ianto some hundreds years in the future. He grows older while he adapts to this new life, the years pass and then he meets Jack again. It’s not a particularly difficult method to bring him back. Nothing fancy, just the Rift being the Rift. Simple as that

#also considering that CoE was probably a fixed point #she couldn't interfer directly with that #so i think the only thing possible to bring ianto back without messing with precedent events in the plot or breaking time #is house of the dead #or idk the Doctor revives his corpse and brings him to the future #but thats a bit far fetched i think #even if it's all cool in fanfiction #also if you really want her to have scenes with ianto and/or Jack she could like be the one to find ianto in the future #or snag him just before the Rift takes him #but like i said i think the radioplay House of the dead is our best option #and now i'll stop rambling okay #torchwood #ianto jones #jack harkness #13th doctor #doctor who

[fanoftheimagines]

Golden Sunlight

Golden Sunlight

Excerpt from Amaranthine

Pairing: Ianto Jones/Reader

Reader Gender: Non-Binary

CW: Suggestive, morning after fluff, shirt-stealing, happy Ianto

Word Count: 361

Summary: It’s the morning after spending the night at Ianto’s and you can’t find your shirt.

This happens in either Torchwood S1 or S2 (haven’t decided which one yet)

A/N: This is part of a series I put on hold for a bit that I was working on, Amaranthine. See the series masterlist for context.

I want to again thank @zana999​ for convincing me to actually post excerpts.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Golden sunlight bathed you as you woke up. You stretched your arms across the bed, searching for Ianto’s warmth. The sheets were still slightly warm, but Ianto was nowhere to be found. You groaned and sat up, leaning against the soft pillows. Your eyelids fluttered shut for a second. The distinct sounds of cooking traveled from the open door. With a heavy sigh, you rolled out of bed.

Yesterday’s clothes were scattered around the room. You slid on your undergarments, which were luckily near the bed. Your shirt, however, was nowhere to be found upon first glance. But a familiar purple dress shirt lay strewn on the floor at the end of the bed. You smiled. The fabric was soft and comfortable under your touch. Surely, he wouldn’t mind… You slid it over your shoulders and buttoned it up until it covered a reasonable amount of your chest.

Ianto was standing at the stove when you walked out. He was dressed in a grey t-shirt and some casual pants. A small smile graced your features. He looked so relaxed and, dare you say, happy. With a smile on your face and love in your heart, you walked behind him and wrapped your arms around his middle. He gasped and jumped slightly at the sudden contact.

“Good morning.” You whispered, tucking your face into his back. “I had fun last night.”

He laughed. “Me too.”

You kissed his shoulder blade, released him, and jumped onto the counter. “I wish we could have a proper day off.” You said as you swung your feet. “No rift alerts. No aliens.” He hummed, stirring whatever he was cooking. “I could take you on a proper date. Somewhere nice.”

“Yeah?” He smiled.

“Yeah. No takeaway at the Hub or anything like that.” You paused for a moment. “We could watch a movie, maybe one of those spy movies you told me about?”

He turned around, surprised. “Really?” His eyes took you all in.

You smiled and shrugged. “Well, they’re your favorite and I’ve never seen them, so yeah.”

He scanned you again, his eyes raking your figure. “You’re wearing my shirt.”

You smirked. “Couldn’t find mine.”

Do not copy to another site. Ask for permission before bookbinding. I EXPLICITLY FORBID ANYONE FROM FEEDING MY FICS TO AI. All rude comments will be blocked and deleted.

Buy me a coffee?

#ianto jones imagine #ianto jones x reader #torchwood imagine #torchwood x reader #doctor who imagine #doctor who x reader #trans!reader #enby!reader #romantic!reader #other!reader #transxm #enbyxm #my fanfic

[this-is-quite-homoerotic]

I was thinking about Ianto/the Face of Boe (don’t ask) and so I started pondering the possibility of Ianto meeting an older Jack from further into the timeline, and then I had.......... a Thought™.

I’ve mentioned many times before that Ianto seems older in every season, like he looks So Babey in season 1, look at this, look at this face:

He looks so young.

BABEY

Super Babey, right?

But he looks noticeably older by season 2, and even more so by season 3. (Not a lot older, but noticeably older, you know?) Like so:

^ This is Ianto in ep 2x04

^ This is him in ep 2x10

^ And this is him in season 3, as we know.

So it occured to me that a fun explanation could be...... what if he looks older because he is older? Not just a few months to a year older between each season, but a few years older instead?

What if Ianto was thrust forward in time by the Rift or by rogue Time Agents, or by an alien artefact, or [insert plot device here], and he keeps running into different versions of Jack in the future? (Or maybe he keeps being kidnapped by an older Jack so he can spend more time with Ianto before he dies during the incident with the 456?)

Maybe the first time’s an accident, Ianto handles an artefact of unknown origin with his bare hands and he appears in the 85th century not two metres away from where Jack was standing.

So Ianto’s stuck in the future, thankfully with Jack who’ll obviously protect him and explain things, but he needs to go back because timelines, right? Jack doesn’t have a functioning Vortex Manipulator, so it takes him months to figure out a way to get him back. When he finally can, he doesn’t want to let go of Ianto, who he still remembered after all these years and who he’d grown close to again (who he’d fallen in love with again) knowing he’ll die in 2009 and Jack will never get to see him again. But as Jack warns him that he can’t tell 21st century him about his trip into the future, because Jack hadn't known back then and changing that could risk destroying the timeline, Ianto, brilliant, practical genius that he is, figures out the loophole: so long as he doesn’t tell his linear Jack, then they can do this again, can’t they? Ianto has a great poker face, he can do it. And, worst case scenario, Ianto has access to retcon. If older Jack gives him his consent to use it on younger him (he does) then he’ll even have a failsafe*. And Jack looks at him, shaken to the core, in that moment he could swear he’s never loved anyone so much as he loves Ianto Jones. So he starts planning his next trip.

*He doesn’t end up having to retcon Jack, but after Adam when they all retconned themselves, Ianto spends half a day thinking it’s because the team uncovered his little trips and he had to retcon all of them - until he finds the note he left himself in his trouser pocket to let himself know it was unrelated.

And then I had another Thought™.

The next time Ianto goes into the future, it’s deliberate. Jack all but takes him without asking, he goes for the time right after Abbadon when he left with the Doctor and takes Ianto straight to a very exclusive resort in the 93rd century to get one of those treatments to slow down aging like we see Liz 10 from DW had, except much more advanced, so he could live for several centuries and age so slowly it’d look like only a few years had passed.

And so Ianto keeps disappearing into the future and spending months or years at a time with older Jacks and his linear Jack doesn't find out because Ianto's only gone for a few minutes at a time from the 21st century; but he's staying in the future much longer. This is why he keeps such a detailed diary, he needs it to refresh his memory on where he left off things back in 2007-2009. At first they start with trips that are shorter than a year, because Ianto needs to remember what he’s coming back to. He doesn’t want Jack to grow suspicious, god only knew what he might think was going on if Ianto didn’t remember something that had happened “the day before”. But then at some point Jack acquires some tech that allows one to save memories and keep them fresh, so Ianto doesn’t have to rely solely on his diary, and they start making much, much longer trips (of several decades to a century). Jack gives Ianto some of the training he got at the Time Agency to ensure he doesn’t muddle up the timeline.

Anyway, Ianto starts keeping two diaries: one for the 2007-2009 period, and another for his trips, where he’s more relaxed about writing down details and which Jack keeps with him safe and sound in the future. Trips into the future can be domestic bliss or crazy world-saving adventures or both, you decide!

Bonus points if he isn’t meeting the older Jacks in chronological order after that first one!

Jack gets to show Ianto the stars, his own home planet, so many interesting alien species he never got to see on Earth, even working for Torchwood; he gets to show him the wonders of the galaxy and to take him beyond, further than Ianto could have ever imagined. He gets to introduce him to his mother, to so many friends, to some of his grandkids. He shows him the facilities of Torchwood 284, 740, 1371 and even later versions, and he takes him to the Torchwood Archive where there's AI holograms of the two of them living happily ever after. Hologram Jack, who was modelled after the 2009 real-life version, gets the shock of his non-life. Hologram Ianto has never looked so mischievous. He knew, of course. Hologram Ianto gets thoroughly snogged.

Jack not only gets to tell Ianto but also to show him that no matter how many thousands or even millions of years pass, he’ll never be forgotten, not while Jack’s still alive. And Jack’s gonna live for a long time. He’s gonna love Ianto for a very long time.

And because he has centuries to work it out, Jack finds a way to make Ianto immune to the virus at Thames House. He hunts down the bastards and has a cure bioengineered. He makes Ianto take it before he goes back to 2009 and he travels back to that day where Ianto “died” in Thames House, careful to arrive after the virus was released but before it dispelled enough to allow the bodies to be collected, and he takes Ianto (passed out as the cure works its magic but very much alive) and leaves behind a perfect copy.

When Ianto wakes up, perfectly healthy and well rested, it’s to find a slightly older-looking Jack grinning down at him.

For the first time since that first accidental trip, Jack knows that he doesn’t have to let Ianto go back to his past self to maintain the timeline. From then on, they can move forward together, no time jumps, no careful preserving of memories so that Ianto can pretend he never left the 21st century, no more secrets between them. They can just be.

#Torchwood #plot ideas #not!fic #Ianto Jones #Janto #Captain Jack Harkness #this is what i do instead of writing #like ALL the ideas i post here this one is up for adoption #if you like it you can use it wherever and however you want #but do let me know if you use any of them! i'd love to read them!

[gwendolyncooper]

the tenth doctor has some rights & y’all keep forgetting he exists outside of jack and martha

All right y’all, this is gonna be an unpopular opinion, so buckle up.

First up, a disclaimer: I love Ten. I love the Tenth Doctor. He’s one of my comfort characters, he got me through some really rough times. I also understand that he was super shit to both Martha and Jack, and that he was a very flawed character. That’s kind of the point of the Doctor, as much as flawed characters are with Torchwood.

I’m also absolutely not going to give him any slack for the way he treated Jack and Martha, as much as I want to dive into what I believe to be his thought process on it. It was shit. He’s done some really shit stuff. He’s not only the shit stuff.

Anyway.

There’s a lot I could get into, but my beef with the Torchwood fandom is Ten introducing Jack to Alonso.

It wasn’t cruel and it wasn’t reducing Jack to just a horny bastard, and here’s why.

Obviously, we have to look at the circumstances: Jack has lost Ianto Jones. We can assume that the Doctor knows he has, and knows what Ianto meant to him. We also have to acknowledge that we really have no clue where in Jack’s timeline he was when the Doctor brought Alonso to his attention, so we cannot accurately say how long it has been since he lost Ianto, just that he’s traveling the stars, which is about 99% of Jack Harkness’ timeline, since he’s functionally immortal.

ANYWAY. We all know that the show Doctor Who tends to reduce Jack into a walking bisexual stereotype - flirty to an extreme, sexualized, and dtf anyone who moves. Yes, we all hate it. I don’t get why they did, especially since it was RTD, but they did. And yes, Ten did it frequently, too. This wasn’t one of those times.

Ten exists as a person and as the Doctor for a vast amount of time outside of Jack or even his time with Martha (including her bc she’s Torchwood idc what anyone says). He was there with Rose, with Donna, during his time alone. He’s one of the longest-running Doctors in New Who. And it’s his time outside of Jack and Martha that makes this moment so incredibly different.

The Doctor loses people. He knows that. He always will. We discuss Jack accepting loss so often, but the Doctor has and always will know that pain just as deeply. He knows that who he is, what he does, the way his life works, means he will always lose people. But, just like Jack, that doesn’t stop him from getting attached and loving hard. And he did with Rose, and god, poor Martha got the brunt of that grief. And that’s what it was, grief. It wasn’t a good way to deal with it and it certainly wasn’t fair, but the Doctor was grieving. And when it came time to regenerate, he had just lost not only his best friend (world-ending psychopath or not), but his entire planet and people a second time, on top of losing Donna forever as well. He was in the throes of his grief, and he did for Jack exactly what he does for himself when trying to survive it: he picks up the pieces and pours his love into someone new.

Ten had minutes before his regeneration. And he spent those minutes going back to see the people he’d lost and would never see again, while he could as the same man. And Jack was grieving a loss that he understood, and felt, and Ten did the one thing he knew to do and tried to give him someone he not only knew was a good person, but knew would be Jack’s type. It wasn’t for a quick fuck, it wasn’t for a hookup -- Ten was grieving, Ten was dying, and he did for Jack what he couldn’t do for himself -- he tried to give Jack a place to pour the sort of abundant love that they both shared the ability to give.

Was it good timing? We don’t actually know. Was it sort of shit to do it without an explanation? Yeah, it kinda was. But the way the Torchwood fandom views Ten is through the incredibly narrow lens of Jack Harkness and Martha Jones, and he exists so widely and incredibly and fully outside of them that ignoring that twists who he is and his actions.

Anyway tag your Ten hate. I’ll back you all up on saying he treated them like shit, because he did. But I think most of the fandom has this one moment very, very wrong because we’re looking at it through a narrow lens and aren’t taking in the whole picture.

#torchwood #doctor who #tenth doctor #jack harkness #martha jones #(idk don't come for me i do support everyone who calls him out for being shit to jack and martha bc he was) #(but i'm...so tired of the vitriolic ten hate in this fandom like it's a trend for the cool kids) #(he's not just this one part of him and yeah he sucks in a lot of other ways but he also isn't just that) #(pls tag your ten hate he means a lot to me 😭)