fajrdrako | Torchwood recs...

Here I am, wide awake at 4 a.m., so I might as well write the Torchwood fic recommendation list I've been meaning to do for a while now.

Torchwood fandom seems to be in a creative upsurge, with stories just getting better and better. Four or five months ago I was desperately searching in vain for more good Captain Jack stories. Now I can't keep up with the quantity. There was a whole slew appearing when Torchwood premiered, an escalating number of stories as the series continued and built momentum, and an influx of renewed enthusiasm when the Jack/Ianto slash became canon two weeks ago. I love this. Simmering enthusiasm, erupting into creativity. This list is mostly Jack/Ianto, for fairly obvious reasons.

The pick of the crop:

Fairytales by

andrealyn. Jack/Ianto. [PG-13] A study of who Jack is, or might be. "An enigma that draws your eye because he sparkles and shines, but like all beautiful things, he is dangerous at the core."

Four Ways Jack Harkness Is Every Bit the Monster Ianto Jones Said He Was, and One Way Ianto Might be Worse by

the_moonmoth. Jack/Ianto. This story has the virtue of being clever. Can't say I really like the plot; but it pulls you in and turns you around and surprises you at the end and is quite beautifully written.

the_moonmoth also won my respect by writing a scene I'd been thinking about (part 3) and alluded to in my story Attitude Adjustment, but never actually wrote. Since

the_moonmoth has done it for me, I don't have to! [1]

Jokes I May Have Misremembered by

mercurial_wit. Episodic biography of Captain Jack's life and thought, by a writer who gets it absolutely right.

Sun in the Sky by

giddygeek. Jack/Ianto. I'm not quite sure why I'm including this; other people have recommended it, and the appeal here for me is difficult to define. I'd like to call it a gentle story, a comfortable story, but that doesn't sound like praise. In this case it's meant as such. It's a story that plays up "Jack as nurturer" and this is an aspect of him that I particularly love, and which has generally been neglected by fanfic writers. (I can't think why they don't all pander to my tastes at all times. What's up with that?)

Redemption in Figures by

notevery. Jack/Ianto. It feels odd to be recommending a story I really didn't much like, but this one haunted me. In a good way? In a bad way? I'm not sure. Perhaps this is a rec and a warning at the same time. I consider this story way out of character (especially for Jack), but maybe still a legitimate interpretation - and a strong, chilling story. "Unpretty emotions", the author calls it. I don't ever want to ever read it again, but I admire its intelligence.

Aliens Exist by

3jane Jack/Ianto. Jane St. Clair is one of my favourite slash writers ever, and I am always thrilled when she produces a story in one of my fandoms. Imagine my delight when she writes a Torchwood story. Imagine my delight that it's as good as I would expect from her. Love it with a passion. Must quote:

Jack is all about performance. He's perfectly capable of blending in, but something in him rebels against it. He dresses in military vintage and swirls into rooms and sparks every time a camera's turned on him.

Bathtubs and Bananas by

boji, a writer whose version of Jack I always love. Jack/Nine. A beautifully written, rather laid-back story about Jack in a bathtub on the TARDIS, doing his best to seduce the Doctor. Boji captures the Doctor's quirky combination of humanity and alienness (not to mention alienation), but it's her first-person Jack who really shines.

Choice by

torakowalski. Jack/Ianto. A story of unusual delicacy and insight.

[1] I am joking, of course. Just because someone else has written a theme doesn't mean I would avoid it, and if I wrote it, I would do it in my own way. But sometimes it's a good excuse for being lazy about it, especially when I'm at the stage of Torchwood thought where I have more ideas than opportunity to write them.