Dear Torchwood Fandom,

[rm]

Dear Torchwood Fandom,

I am as much about Jack/Ianto as many of the rest of you, BUT, perhaps you have not noticed, these are two really fucked up people in fucked up circumstances with a distinctive disinclination towards monogamy.

So, can we please stop writing fics that involve Jack cooing over how adorable Ianto is? or making him breakfast in bed? Or saying "I love you" every two seconds?

BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT THOSE GUYS. Even in happy ending fics (which I like), even when they are taking comfort from each other (which is probably how it evolved out of Ianto trying to get Lisa into the Hub) and even when they're in love with each other (which I can totally buy).

Ianto is both weirdly innocent and incredibly fucking devious and generally pretty at sea and FILLED WITH TRAUMA and also tough as nails. And Jack is actually out of his goddamn mind. And immortal (more or less). And a huge slut. And a very manly man. Mostly. And also, FILLED WITH TRAUMA, and I don't mean screaming girl trauma for either of them, okay?

So, please, pelase, please, people, let these characters be into each other on their own terms, not your unimaginative heteronormative romance novel crap.

Also, didn't we learn anything about sickeningly cute and character inappropriate nicknames from the Harry Potter fandom?

Thank you.

Gah. I hate new fandoms.

Comments

[rm.livejournal.com]

Also, this whole "Ianto cries easily" thing -- what the hell? He cries when Jack and a pterodactyl kill his cyberwoman girlfriend. When else does he cry? That seems like a legitimate occasion for crying/freaking the fuck out to me.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Well, true. Sadly they seem to be doing stuff like that to him all the time though. I suspect that the writers thought 'wow, that's dramatic!' and kept on doing it until it's become a habit. There's the mortal terror in Countrycide, and then there's 'oh God, I just murdered three girls!' sobbing in the rain in season 2, as well as being on the edge of tears at the end of 'Out of the Rain' (hm.. I don't think there's a link.) Mind you, in S2 finale he's the only one not crying, but that doesn't really surprise me.

But I agree - if you can't cry when the love of your life is murdered by the person you have a secret crush on (and have possibly been sleeping with), you'd have to be pretty inhuman.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Ah see, I've only seen season 1 thus far (although I've been totally spoiled for 2, so it's utterly cool). But also, Countrycide seems like a legit reason for crying. Because it's not like he's being all "we're going to die and I'm sad" he's fucking terrified and trying to summon everything he's got to get out of that situation. Tears and what not is just what happens (I say this in part because I'm a fencer, and people (and not just me and not just girls) tend to wind up teary in really good fights, because it's what the body does with frustration in those situations).

I also do really wonder to what degree this is the director /writers telling the actor to cry all the time because he can, and to what degree tears is just how the actor keeps responding to the emotional situations of the character (if that makes sense). I mean, if I were a guy actor who could cry on cue, I'd be bloody glad to get to use it for a change, I think.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Oh yes - I personally was far more struck, in Countrycide, by that manic berserker smile of his and him headbutting that guy. I think that was the point where I realized that he wasn't only capable of pulling the wool over Torchwood's eyes with the serious logistics of repairing Lisa, but was also pretty awesome in a life and death situation. I agree with you that crying is something that just happens in those situations, and you have to look at what else the character is doing. But, on the other hand, although it's realistic, it's also not something you often see from a male character - particularly not one in a heroic role.

It's one of the things I like about Torchwood, actually; that people can snivel and scream and sob and have snot running down their faces as they throw dignity to the wind in favour of raw emotion - and we'll still come back and think they're heroes. But I don't know if that makes it difficult for younger viewers who are more accustomed to the sanitized versions you normally get on TV.

*g* I think Ianto is so puzzling because normally he is so buttoned up. It takes something extreme to get a big emotional reaction - and then of course it has to be an extreme reaction. But the actor is good at doing subtle too, though I think that's more apparent in season 2 too :)