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] donutsweeper.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:10 pm (UTC)(link)
OMG I love this!! Now I can think of that horrid bit of nonsense and not cringe!!!!

[identity profile] lyore.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Loved this! I have invented many and varied ways of getting around this (of varying plausibility), but I think I may also adopt yours as my personal canon. I may have to pimp this fic.

(Oh, and while I loved the idea, I should also mention my love is also for the fic itself - well-written and in characters, and I love the idea of the Face of Boe with a dirty sense of humour.)

Anyone else thinking that we need a 'Why Jack Isn't The Face of Boe' ficathon now?

[identity profile] phantomreviewer.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Yay!

Someone else who is like WTF is going on with Jack being Boe

I really like this expanation!

[identity profile] taffimai.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:12 pm (UTC)(link)
*cheers wildly*

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you most kindly. I'm relieved - some people seem to like the idea, despite the fact that Jack's meant to be "a fact" and a fixed point in time, so ageing and changing is actually beyond him, and the whole "You're wrong" bit and argh. I'm going to have to rant about it, aren't I?

*hugs* Thank you for liking it, though. :)

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! By all means take it as your canon and spread the joyful word. ^_^

(And yeah. He's a head in a jar. He's got to keep himself amused somehow... Making up dirty jokes has got to turn up somewhere on the list of things to do. ^_^)

And yes. Yes, yes, yes. That's a brilliant idea. Make it so!

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:16 pm (UTC)(link)
:D Thanks a bundle! I wouldn't mind so much if RTD had bothered to make it make any sense whatsoever. He's lost his way...

Glad you like! Spread the word! ^_^

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:17 pm (UTC)(link)
*dances and hugs you* Thank you! I'm so glad I'm not the only one digging my heels in about this. :) I don't normally get so annoyed by anything that turns up in canon, because I can usually work with it. But this... No. Just no.

Eheh.

[identity profile] phantomreviewer.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Yea
(guessing heights here)

How does a 6 foot man become a 6 foot head???

Very much,

"RTD, this way, over here"

I will

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:20 pm (UTC)(link)
How does a human man become an alien head...? Bah. :D

[identity profile] lyore.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:20 pm (UTC)(link)
RL is kinda insane right now, so I really, really, shouldn't... but I SO want to.

[identity profile] jadesfire2808.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:22 pm (UTC)(link)
It really didn't bother me, but this is genius. I love the concept, the puns, the jokes and the set up. And Jack's mum *sniff*

Great stuff :) Will definitely be reccing around

[identity profile] phantomreviewer.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:23 pm (UTC)(link)
That too.

I think that...

RTD's gone mad
Jack was joking

I dunno

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:25 pm (UTC)(link)
*hugs* I'm tempted to as well, but feel guilty enough for putting this up when some of my friends like the idea...

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:26 pm (UTC)(link)
*cuddles fic* There are ways out of it. RTD proclaims it as true, though - I never thought I'd say this, but perhaps he should pass DW/TW on to other hands now.

I'm quite willing, for one. ;)

[identity profile] taffimai.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:26 pm (UTC)(link)
*shudders* My reaction was ... well ... *points to icon*

Poor, poor Jack.
order_of_chaos: (Default)

[personal profile] order_of_chaos 2007-07-01 01:30 pm (UTC)(link)
I like turnips. Turnips are good!
*crumbles into laughter*

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Eheh, thanke. It just annoys the hell out of me because of all of the "fixed point in time" and "It's hard even just looking at you" and so on that was set up in previous canon. It sounded like a quick shoehorned-in line to finish Jack off in DW, rather than a thought-through story arc that was consistent and planned. I have no problem with the idea of Jack becoming so friendly, benevolent and powerful in the form of Boe, but there are far too many plot-holes unresolved for me to accept it as it stands.

Anyway, back to the fic... ^_^'

I'm very glad you liked it in itself. I'm really going to have to work out how that joke ends now... Probably involves some detailed knowledge of Tlethan and Karide physiology, no doubt. :)

Thank you again!

[identity profile] elethoniel.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh brilliant!!
See this makes so much more sense than any of last nights episode did. This is my new canon, thank you so much. ♥

[identity profile] ladyharkness.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:32 pm (UTC)(link)
This is officially my canon now :)

I love it, amazing. I think its also the cheeky kind of thing Jack would do to throw the Doctor too.

Well done you *bows down* Now if we could just get you on the writing team :D

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:32 pm (UTC)(link)
*big grins* Somebody has to make an icon with a picture of Jack, a "not equal" sign (the equals with the strikethrough) and then a pic of Boe. It must be done. :)

Poor, poor abused DW/TW continuity...

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:33 pm (UTC)(link)
:D Eheh. Thanke. There's a twisted reason why I call them turnips, but it's not particularly interesting. *pats fic*

Glad you likey. ;)

[identity profile] taffimai.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Can we ask Rusty for a do over?

"Sorry, but that just didn't work on any level. We need you to do another season ender, this time without the crack."

[identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you! Share my canon! ^_^ See, I'm all for the making-sense, and you're right, an awful lot of last night's episode wandered vaguely as a cloud with no memory of any previous DW eps...

[identity profile] lyore.livejournal.com 2007-07-01 01:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, I have a few friends who feel the same way - which is one of the reasons I'd like a ficathon-type thing, so the people who *don't* can find others who feel the same.

I have nothing against other people liking it (although if one of them could explain the logistics of Jack mutating into a giant head I'd be grateful *g*), but I dislike the idea that this thow-away line is going to trump *other* canon about the Face of Boe. I like the idea of picking and chosing, myself :)

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