Fifteen things
Jun. 23rd, 2009 03:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jadesfireMy head is feeling much better, although still a little achy, so I'm glad these are written and just need pasting in. I wrote these on the train on the way up to Manchester, and I think at this point, I have to admit defeat on the rest of the 'Five Things…' prompts. It's possible that I actually have to admit defeat on Torchwood fic full-stop, but that's another meta that can wait until we see what S3 brings us. For the rest, I just can't make them work, and trying is just depressing me, so I'm calling it quits here. Sorry, but hopefully I'll have plenty of fic for you over the next few months to make up for it!
Anyway, sorry to those whose prompts will remain unwritten. Here are some more to be going on with:
I can't remember who prompted this and so this is for whoever gave me the prompt…
Five people who entered the Hub before the current Torchwood crew
Emily had been recruited to keep Torchwood's records and do Walter's typing, not to run the place without him. Poor Walter. The Hub had always been his obsession and in his absence, Emily was left with a pile of cryptic instructions and a half-built headquarters.
She ventured down there as soon as the builders declared it safe, gazing down (and down) into its depths. It wasn't a great surprise to find it gazing back into her. Emily knew her Nietzsche and if the thing at the bottom of the Hub didn't belong in the Abyss, she didn't know what did.
**
The Hub echoes at night, tiny clicks and knocks and the quiet drip-drip of water. Nothing most people would notice with their constant chatter and laughter.
Harry notices everything. After the continual noise of the trenches, the roars and bangs of artillery and the cries of dying men, quiet isn't something he takes for granted any more.
He likes it down here, the way you can hear everything, and he sometimes drops pennies down the steps, just to hear them fall. Because while he's listening to that, maybe he can drown out the screaming of the fallen in his mind.
**
It wasn't like she didn't have a choice. With the war on, Frankie could have walked into whatever kind of job she wanted, and as she started down the steps, she wondered if she would have been better off taking the offer from Bletchley after all. Even that mysterious place wasn't half as secretive as Torchwood.
Four days later, and ten minutes into her first translation of an alien language, she couldn't have found Bletchley on a map. And when she met her first alien and greeted him in his own language, she wondered why she'd considered being anywhere else.
**
Jenny probably should have thought twice about the skirt before wearing it to work. The stares on the street had been bad enough, as though she'd come out naked, rather than in one of the first mini-skirts sold in Cardiff. But the wolf-whistles at the Hub are almost enough to make her turn around. However good she looks, she doesn't need the hassle.
Jack doesn't whistle, and the look he gives her is actually less flirtatious than usual. Giving her a nod, he gives Bert a clip round the ear and heads down to the cells to feed the Weevils.
**
Jack Harkness has something of a reputation. Several reputations actually, some good, some bad, most unrepeatable. Suzie knew all about that when she agreed to come to Torchwood Three, at his express invitation. Even now, waiting for him to collect her from the tourist office above the Hub, she isn't sure why. If either he or Yvonne think she's going to be their spy, they're in for a shock.
Straightening her handbag strap, Suzie smiles to herself. The only hidden agenda she's following is her own, just like always. Torchwood Three and Captain Jack Harkness aren't going to change that.
I do remember that this one is for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
miss_zedem
Five Times Sheppard didn't see it coming
#1. Because he was looking the wrong way
(In fairness, Teyla could have warned him about the edge of the cliff. That she didn't suggests she hasn't quite forgiven him for the 'nursing bra' prank just yet)
#2. Because he had his eyes closed
(Flashbangs are called that for a reason. And when Ronon shouted at him to move, it was pretty much reflex to obey. But Sheppard should have remembered that the corridor really wasn't that wide and the wall was really quite hard.)
#3. Because he was blindfolded
(The rest of the team had the sense to take theirs off as soon as they were pushed into the cell. Of course, if they'd also moved out of the doorway, there wouldn't have been such a pile-up.)
#4. Because he thought it was the quiet ones you had to watch out for
(Except just sometimes, it's the obvious ones. They do it on purpose to confuse you.)
#5. Because he never sees it coming
(It's a girl-shaped blind-spot, and Rodney sometimes wonders if it's possible to get corrective surgery for it. Only that would take all the fun out of watching Sheppard's panicked face when he finally does see it right in front of him, so maybe that's not worth it after all.)
I had 2 Discworld prompts, but I think this is formad_jaks. Or aeron_lanart, who just doesn't remember that it's her ;)
Five times DEATH took a holiday
"IF THIS PERSISTS, I DO NOT THINK WE WILL BE WELCOME IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT FOR MUCH LONGER."
"SQUEAK?"
"I BELIEVE THAT CABBAGES ARE CONSIDERED A DELICACY HERE. THE STO LAT CAVIAR, THEY CALL IT. ALSO THE STO LAT BEEF, PORK, QUAIL AND TRIPE, I UNDERSTAND."
"SQUEAK?"
"PLEASE TRY TO REMEMBER TO EAT THE WHOLE CABBAGE. OTHERS DO NOT APPRECIATE PICKING UP THEIR STO LAT SPECIALTY TO FIND THAT IT HAS ALREADY BEEN NIBBLED."
**
"ALBERT."
"Yes, Master?"
"IS THIS CONSIDERED TO BE AMUSING?"
"Mad Nellie Snodgrass only performs in Quirm once a year, sir. It's the highlight of the holiday season."
"I SEE. AND THE PART WITH THE HEDGEHOG?"
"Classic."
"AH."
**
"Gods, that was close."
"VERY."
"I mean, they warn you about the rock-falls around here, but you never think it's going to happen to you."
"QUITE."
"You saved my life! How can I thank you?"
"THINK NOTHING OF IT. I AM ON HOLIDAY."
**
"DID ANYTHING COME?"
"No, Master."
"SHE SAID SHE WOULD WRITE TO ME."
"I know, Master."
"SHE WAS VERY NICE TO ME WHILE WE WERE AT THE BEACH. I BOUGHT HER A DRINK. WITH AN UMBRELLA IN IT."
"Yes, Master."
"WHY HASN'T SHE WRITTEN TO ME YET, ALBERT?"
"I'm sorry, Master. Sometimes, what happens in Quirm, stays in Quirm."
**
"Oh, wow, I love your costume!"
"AH…. THANK YOU? I…ER…MADE IT MYSELF."
"Even the scythe? For real? You're so going to win at the Maskerade Parade."
"IS THAT A GOOD THING?"
"I'll say. Are you going to the Bedtime Story?"
"…POSSIBLY?"
"You can come along with us, if you like. Are you a con newbie?"
"HOW CAN YOU TELL?"
Anyway, sorry to those whose prompts will remain unwritten. Here are some more to be going on with:
I can't remember who prompted this and so this is for whoever gave me the prompt…
Emily had been recruited to keep Torchwood's records and do Walter's typing, not to run the place without him. Poor Walter. The Hub had always been his obsession and in his absence, Emily was left with a pile of cryptic instructions and a half-built headquarters.
She ventured down there as soon as the builders declared it safe, gazing down (and down) into its depths. It wasn't a great surprise to find it gazing back into her. Emily knew her Nietzsche and if the thing at the bottom of the Hub didn't belong in the Abyss, she didn't know what did.
**
The Hub echoes at night, tiny clicks and knocks and the quiet drip-drip of water. Nothing most people would notice with their constant chatter and laughter.
Harry notices everything. After the continual noise of the trenches, the roars and bangs of artillery and the cries of dying men, quiet isn't something he takes for granted any more.
He likes it down here, the way you can hear everything, and he sometimes drops pennies down the steps, just to hear them fall. Because while he's listening to that, maybe he can drown out the screaming of the fallen in his mind.
**
It wasn't like she didn't have a choice. With the war on, Frankie could have walked into whatever kind of job she wanted, and as she started down the steps, she wondered if she would have been better off taking the offer from Bletchley after all. Even that mysterious place wasn't half as secretive as Torchwood.
Four days later, and ten minutes into her first translation of an alien language, she couldn't have found Bletchley on a map. And when she met her first alien and greeted him in his own language, she wondered why she'd considered being anywhere else.
**
Jenny probably should have thought twice about the skirt before wearing it to work. The stares on the street had been bad enough, as though she'd come out naked, rather than in one of the first mini-skirts sold in Cardiff. But the wolf-whistles at the Hub are almost enough to make her turn around. However good she looks, she doesn't need the hassle.
Jack doesn't whistle, and the look he gives her is actually less flirtatious than usual. Giving her a nod, he gives Bert a clip round the ear and heads down to the cells to feed the Weevils.
**
Jack Harkness has something of a reputation. Several reputations actually, some good, some bad, most unrepeatable. Suzie knew all about that when she agreed to come to Torchwood Three, at his express invitation. Even now, waiting for him to collect her from the tourist office above the Hub, she isn't sure why. If either he or Yvonne think she's going to be their spy, they're in for a shock.
Straightening her handbag strap, Suzie smiles to herself. The only hidden agenda she's following is her own, just like always. Torchwood Three and Captain Jack Harkness aren't going to change that.
I do remember that this one is for
miss_zedem#1. Because he was looking the wrong way
(In fairness, Teyla could have warned him about the edge of the cliff. That she didn't suggests she hasn't quite forgiven him for the 'nursing bra' prank just yet)
#2. Because he had his eyes closed
(Flashbangs are called that for a reason. And when Ronon shouted at him to move, it was pretty much reflex to obey. But Sheppard should have remembered that the corridor really wasn't that wide and the wall was really quite hard.)
#3. Because he was blindfolded
(The rest of the team had the sense to take theirs off as soon as they were pushed into the cell. Of course, if they'd also moved out of the doorway, there wouldn't have been such a pile-up.)
#4. Because he thought it was the quiet ones you had to watch out for
(Except just sometimes, it's the obvious ones. They do it on purpose to confuse you.)
#5. Because he never sees it coming
(It's a girl-shaped blind-spot, and Rodney sometimes wonders if it's possible to get corrective surgery for it. Only that would take all the fun out of watching Sheppard's panicked face when he finally does see it right in front of him, so maybe that's not worth it after all.)
I had 2 Discworld prompts, but I think this is for
mad_jaks. Or aeron_lanart, who just doesn't remember that it's her ;)"IF THIS PERSISTS, I DO NOT THINK WE WILL BE WELCOME IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT FOR MUCH LONGER."
"SQUEAK?"
"I BELIEVE THAT CABBAGES ARE CONSIDERED A DELICACY HERE. THE STO LAT CAVIAR, THEY CALL IT. ALSO THE STO LAT BEEF, PORK, QUAIL AND TRIPE, I UNDERSTAND."
"SQUEAK?"
"PLEASE TRY TO REMEMBER TO EAT THE WHOLE CABBAGE. OTHERS DO NOT APPRECIATE PICKING UP THEIR STO LAT SPECIALTY TO FIND THAT IT HAS ALREADY BEEN NIBBLED."
**
"ALBERT."
"Yes, Master?"
"IS THIS CONSIDERED TO BE AMUSING?"
"Mad Nellie Snodgrass only performs in Quirm once a year, sir. It's the highlight of the holiday season."
"I SEE. AND THE PART WITH THE HEDGEHOG?"
"Classic."
"AH."
**
"Gods, that was close."
"VERY."
"I mean, they warn you about the rock-falls around here, but you never think it's going to happen to you."
"QUITE."
"You saved my life! How can I thank you?"
"THINK NOTHING OF IT. I AM ON HOLIDAY."
**
"DID ANYTHING COME?"
"No, Master."
"SHE SAID SHE WOULD WRITE TO ME."
"I know, Master."
"SHE WAS VERY NICE TO ME WHILE WE WERE AT THE BEACH. I BOUGHT HER A DRINK. WITH AN UMBRELLA IN IT."
"Yes, Master."
"WHY HASN'T SHE WRITTEN TO ME YET, ALBERT?"
"I'm sorry, Master. Sometimes, what happens in Quirm, stays in Quirm."
**
"Oh, wow, I love your costume!"
"AH…. THANK YOU? I…ER…MADE IT MYSELF."
"Even the scythe? For real? You're so going to win at the Maskerade Parade."
"IS THAT A GOOD THING?"
"I'll say. Are you going to the Bedtime Story?"
"…POSSIBLY?"
"You can come along with us, if you like. Are you a con newbie?"
"HOW CAN YOU TELL?"