laligin: (Default)
laligin ([personal profile] laligin) wrote2007-07-01 01:16 pm

Face to Face

Right. I saw the finale of Doctor Who series three, and let's say right here, I was hugely disappointed. Maybe I'll rant in more detail later.

But I'm in denial about one specific thing at the moment (if you've seen it, I'm sure you can guess) so I've written a turnip (that's my word for a "canon is still canon but here's your get-out-of-jail-free card" sort of fic) to prop up what remains of the already wobbly Doctor Who/Torchwood canon.

Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 833
Summary: Jack reminisces a little on something he just told the Doctor and Martha...
Warnings: Spoiler for DW Series 3 episode 13 - though only that one little thing.

By the way - this is now my canon. Apologies to those of you who disagree, no offence intended.

A/N: Oh yeah. And there's plenty of canon that defies the little revelation. It just doesn't work. RTD hasn't been keeping track of what he himself has written regarding the whole issue. Clearly he just threw the line in to round Jack off in DW and give the fans some closure on him - whether it makes any flipping sense or not. Which it doesn't. Gack. I'm not getting started on that. Have escapist denial fic instead.

Face to Face
(or Jack's Ego May Be Out Of Control, But He's Not That Big-Headed)

Jack shoves his hands in his pockets and heads for the paving stone lift, smiling to himself. The Face of Boe. He hasn’t thought of that in years. That had been quite a month.

~*~


Of course, it had been the media that had started the whole business. They’d thought it was hilarious to give a twenty year old Human boy from a backwater little planet the same nickname as a forty thousand year old Oroiodron who’d travelled the universe. They’d even gone so far as to arrange a meeting between the two – his mother had kept all the holographs, always been showing off the one of him with his arm resting on old Boe’s head, both of them smiling broadly for their audience (he’d had the nerve to tell Boe a few of his filthier jokes when he’d discovered the Oroiodron had a wicked sense of humour, but they were tactful enough to claim Boe’s grin was due to him enjoying the fresh air, and the few hours he was allowed to spend out of his tank each day).

Even if the whole set-up had just been to please the media, it had still been a brilliant day for Jack. He and Boe had talked for hours – though admittedly the Oroiodron hadn’t talked so much, more used his telepathy to show Jack what his youth had been.

Jack was sure he’d never forget those scenes of Boe’s home planet, with groups of Oroiodrons (such giants compared to humans) playing and living peacefully, running on three legs through fields bigger than Jack’s home city, four arms always moving in a complex visual language (since telepathy was reserved for use with close friends and family – and he’d felt truly honoured when he’d found that out).

Seeing inside someone’s head like that was a sure fire way of getting attached to them. He’d only just managed not to burst into tears when he’d hugged as much of old Boe as he could reach before they sealed him back up in his tank again. Boe had neatly stopped him from crying by giving him a compressed telepathic glimpse of some of the many places he’d visited (and letting him know how to explore the memories at his leisure later on) and then wishing the Time Agency’s newest recruit as much good luck as he could spare. And then he’d told him an outrageously dirty joke involving a Tlethan, a Karide and a Human going to a bar. Jack remembered laughing until his sides hurt, and only daring to tell a few others in the Time Agency the joke, it was so filthy.

The meeting had been reported with delight in the local sector (headlines had dredged up every old pun they could find – Two Faced; Face to Face; Not Just A Pretty Face!; Face Off and far too many more), he’d been recognised everywhere he went for the week remaining before he shipped out, and then he’d been gone from home for a year, as per Time Agency directives.

(When he’d gone back at last, he’d found the hype had vanished – mostly because two girls (twins) had made it into the Agency as well, barely eight months after him. The media was a fickle mistress, he discovered. But he didn’t much care. He didn’t want the adulation of an ignorant public any more – he’d had to torture and kill on his last mission, and when he cried for hours in his mother’s arms, all he could bear to tell her was that life in the Agency wasn’t as great as he’d expected. (He felt sorry for the two girls – never did find out what happened to them in the end.) She’d told him repeatedly that it didn’t matter what happened, she’d love him no matter what, and he’d sworn he’d keep trying to make her proud. From then on she’d played down his fame – less of the, “My son, the Time Agent…” and more of simply, “My son…” – and, to his great relief, he’d dropped off the radar with no further ado.

The next time he’d gone back, she was dead. It was a small comfort that she didn’t live to see him turn criminal.)

~*~


Reaching the paving stone, Jack pauses for a second, wondering if he should have mentioned the original Face of Boe to the Doctor and Martha. Then he shakes his head, laughing to himself – what does it matter? It’s not as if they can get mixed up between him and old Boe, is it? The difference in species would be a bit of a giveaway to start with!

Grinning to himself now, trying to remember how that joke went (it started “A Tlethan, a Karide and a Human walk into a bar. They each order a hypervodka…” but where did it go from there again?), Jack hops onto the lift and activates it.

If he’s lucky, the team will have been back from the Himalayas long enough for Ianto to make some coffee.

[identity profile] entangled-now.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh so very much yes, this is without doubt my canon now too. I adore your Boe by the way, you've made him sound awesome!

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 04:05 pm (UTC)(link)
^_^ Yay for new-wave canon!

Hee. I like my Boe too. ;) Nobody really knows what goes on in that big brain of his... :D

Glad you like!

[identity profile] mia305.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
This is brilliant, and I am adopting it as my canon. I refuse to accept that Jack will end up as a great big head in a jar, and this explanation makes SO much more sense. <3

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 04:06 pm (UTC)(link)
^_^ Thank you! I seem to have created a whole new subset of canon all of my own! :D You're most welcome to enjoy it too. ;)

Glad you liked it!

[identity profile] skitty-kat.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 04:10 pm (UTC)(link)
I love you! This is now my canon. No way in hell Jack would have turned into a giant head. It just wouldn't work.

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 04:11 pm (UTC)(link)
^_^ Awh. *is loved* Welcome to the new-wave canon! Glad you liked it that much. ;)
tree_and_leaf: Watercolour of barn owl perched on post. (Default)

Here via seti_drd's rec

[personal profile] tree_and_leaf 2007-07-01 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)
A very clever fix: you're right about the canon inconsistancies, and this solves them in a very clever and all round less disturbing fashion.

Re: Here via seti_drd's rec

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! I'm glad you liked it so. ^_^

[identity profile] theohsocurlyone.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 05:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Yep, definitely treating this as canon. If I follow Rusty's version, I just descend into WTFuckery and just shake my fists.

And I love this; it's sweet, it's funny, and oh, Jack's mum! *sniff*

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
^_^ I'm very glad you like it! (I did my best to make it work on more than just the "Ohnoes! Quick, find a loophole!" level...)
rainshaded: Livia from I, Claudius (Default)

[personal profile] rainshaded 2007-07-01 05:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, thank you so much.

*clings to this as canon*

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
*is highly flattered* You're most welcome. Enjoy the alterna-canon! (It's likely they'll never mention it again to contradict it, so... ^_^)
ext_29272: (Default)

[identity profile] sunnyrea.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I love you, thank you for saving me the agony of that "the face of boe they called me" moment. This is so the new canon and I will just pretend the other is not possible. Thank you!

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
^_^ Ehee. Happy to help! This was the only way I could keep writing him! Resolve, find a loophole, move on happy. ;) Glad you liked it!

Hello new Canon!

[identity profile] graciouswings.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 07:16 pm (UTC)(link)
That is great. Much as I love the face of boe, Jack ending up as him is just wrong. This is a wonderful and plausible route to go that doesn't just save Jack from a fate worse than death (all that time without sex? This is Jack we're talking about!), it redeems RTD from the circle of hell reserved for bad writing.
And anyway - Didn't Gwen say before (in countryside) that you can never tell when Jack is joking?
Love love love. :D

Re: Hello new Canon!

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
^_^ Hee. Glad you like it so! I love Boe too, but I love him and Jack as separate people, please. Starting with the species and going from there... :)

[identity profile] hellenebright.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 07:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Love this. Now why can't RTD write like this.

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
*blush* Thank you most kindly.



Ahem. ^_^'
ext_57392: (Default)

[identity profile] 1aquaesulis76.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you so much - just what I needed. Now I can listen to that statement without wincing - or putting my fingers in my ears and singing. A logical explanation, a Jack back-story, and a well written piece full of good characterisation. Thanks for sharing!

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Eheh. Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it.

A logical explanation, a Jack back-story, and a well written piece full of good characterisation.

Mm, not bad for half an hour's writing in the wee hours of the morning, then. ^_^

[identity profile] pairatime.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Can I claim this as my Connon too? Please

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 10:35 am (UTC)(link)
You certainly may. :) Welcome to the new world. ;)

[identity profile] aunt-deen.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
God bless you.

A few hundred more like this and I might stop being depressed.

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 10:36 am (UTC)(link)
We're working on it! Ficathon from [livejournal.com profile] notsobigheaded is on its way. ;)
lonelybrit: Apples & book (Default)

[personal profile] lonelybrit 2007-07-02 12:02 am (UTC)(link)
Yep, until RTD comes to his senses and fixes that horrid 'revelation', this will do very nicely as my new canon :) I do love the idea of Boe having a filthy sense of humour and getting on with Jack so well. Nice one, bravo!

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 10:37 am (UTC)(link)
Hee. I have a twisted imagination. ;) Glad you liked it!

[identity profile] spacedye-vest.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
That was great :) Thank you so much for writing this fic ♥

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 10:38 am (UTC)(link)
My great pleasure. :) I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[identity profile] mrs-norrington.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
That made me so much happier. ;)

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 10:40 am (UTC)(link)
I'm glad I could help! Thanks for reading. ;)

[identity profile] erilyn.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 10:46 am (UTC)(link)
What a fantastic take on the Jack and Face of Boe thing, thank you :)

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 10:53 am (UTC)(link)
You're most welcome! ^_^ Something had to be done! And okay, maybe this wasn't it, but it still helped me... :D Glad you liked it!

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[identity profile] reabhecc.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 11:00 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you, thank you thank you! You fixed it!

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 11:05 am (UTC)(link)
My pleasure. ;) Glad you liked my solution!

[identity profile] mara-202.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 12:34 pm (UTC)(link)
I LOVE YOU. This makes so much more sense. I really like your Boe. ^^

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, you knew there was a way around it somehow. ;) *cuddles Boe* You should hear the rest of his jokes!

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aryas_zehral: (Default)

[personal profile] aryas_zehral 2007-07-02 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)
I may adopt this as my canon too. :) Good get out clause.

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 03:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Feel free. The fic is utterly adoptable, and enjoying being so loved. ;)

Glad you liked!

[identity profile] elyssadc.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 03:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I loved the idea of Jack being the Face of Boe, but this fic is GENIUS nonetheless. Either way, it's f-ing hilarious. Really, really well done. Gonna have to save this one for re-reads.

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 03:32 pm (UTC)(link)
*laughs* Always good to know. Glad you liked it anyway - I did my best to make it a decent enough fic in and of itself, regardless of Boe-canon. ;)

Thank you very much!

[identity profile] jennetj.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 04:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Brilliant! I've been pimping this all over the place as the best explanation to the whole Face of Boe thing.

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-02 04:17 pm (UTC)(link)
*blush* Wow. Thanks. I'm incredibly flattered...

(Aha, so that's why it's got more reviews than anything I've ever put up on here before... :D Hee.)

[identity profile] earlybird42.livejournal.com 2007-07-04 09:14 pm (UTC)(link)
I spent a few minutes going WTF at that revelation, but I can honestly say that I very quickly revised my thoughts to somewhere along these very lines. It would be impossible for Jack to BECOME the Face of Boe, as has been pointed out, they're not even the same species. Boe would have been well known in Jack's time so I just assumed RTD meant that it was applied to Jack purely as a nickname.
Loved the fic, wish I could write like you.

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-04 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
^_^ Thank you most kindly. This was the first get-out clause that struck me, and it seemed to work, so I wrote it and felt a million miles better afterwards.

Glad you liked it, and pah, lots of people write better than me. *flaps a hand, blushing*

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[identity profile] kephisos.livejournal.com 2007-07-08 06:13 pm (UTC)(link)
I DECLARE THIS CANON

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-09 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
*throws a New Canon party* ^_^ Thanke most kindly.

[identity profile] randomdent.livejournal.com 2007-07-08 11:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, good, now I can pretend this is what really happened. Got pointed here after I wrote this post (http://emmaspcreview.livejournal.com/71332.html), and really I feel so much better now. Thank you!

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-09 08:00 pm (UTC)(link)
*blush and flail* From what I can tell a lot of people are being ushered over here by others who've read this already. And I am dying of the flattery.

It made me feel better writing it. Glad it worked for you too - you are most welcome!

[identity profile] rose-cat.livejournal.com 2009-03-20 02:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi, I just found my way here! I'd decided a long time ago that Jack was just winding the Doctor and Martha up and that they eventually got the joke. But I like this even better!

I think RTD was kidding as well, and I'd forgiven him. After "Journey's End," though (WTF?) he's back on my sh** list. *sigh* Hey, any chance you could fix that too? ;)

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2009-03-20 08:14 pm (UTC)(link)
(: I'm so glad you like it, thank you very kindly!

As per Journey's End - I've seen people complain about the resolutions for both Rose and Donna... Which bit in particular did you want twisted reviewed? ;)

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