Same old same old

[jadesfire]

Meh! Gah! And other expressions of disgust...

I am boooooooooored out of my (fairly) tiny mind. The backlog of cataloguing just keeps getting longer, not shorter, which is just wrong as I'm actually doing work here. I'm just not getting any credit for it, which is wrong.

I'm bored enough to contemplate tunnelling my way out and I work on the 1st/2nd* *delete as appropriate for your side of the Atlantic floor.

I'm bored enough that I'm thinking about sorting my work email inbox, which has nearly 600 messages in and to which I have to periodically sacrifice small furry animals in order to keep it appeased.

I'm bored enough to start contemplating inventing new numbers beyond infinity ("smidge" is my favourite so far, which is however much you're thinking of, plus a little bit; or possibly "yelp" which is for the sound you make when you realise quite how high the number is). This is for the purposes of being able to say that, on a scale of 1 to 10 of being bored, I'm at about insert invented number here. Then I can watch people's faces when I say it and no longer be bored, for at least three seconds.

*sigh*

Normally at this point, I demand drabble prompts but I'm almost too bored for that...

Nah, I'm not ;) Prompt away! Or you can demand an extract from one of my works in progress (list under the cut). Demand something from one of my non-regular fandoms (list under other cut). Demand anything that might stop my brain from dribbling out of my ears before the end of the day!

It may take me a while to get through requests, as I am determined to demolish at least one pile of books by the end of the day. As said pile is three feet high, I may be here a while.

The end of "Playtime" (Housefic)

AU: Torchwood meets Sherlock Holmes

AU: Ten is forced to interfere during "Parting of the Ways" when he realises Jack living destroys the human race.

WWII Jack-fic set in Istanbul

Awakenings: Not so much 'five ways Jack died' as 'five ways Jack woke up', using the list from Utopia

Ellis Island fic (Jack)

Expansion of the drabble "Porthole" - Jack in prison

Something from the point of view of the Luggage. Previously demanded by Chrys and still in development hell...

Happy Jack, Rose and Nine story

Kyoto, 1336 Nine, Jack and Rose story (possibly the same as above)

I've written in House, Criminal Minds and Doctor Who/Torchwood. I could potentially write in:

Babylon 5

Robin of Sherwood (not the recent series. the weird one from the 80s)

Buffy (NOT Angel)

X-men

Discworld

Sapphire and Steel

Stargate SG1 (up to end of S6)

Man from UNCLE

Blakes 7 (not seen much, but could have a go)

Observant readers may also notice that I have recently mastered the 'list' coding and am taking the opportunity to use it as often as possible.

ETA: Article in newspaper saying that the interest rates on student loans are doubling. Yes, doubling. Seriously not good.

On the plus side, next week BBC7 are broadcasting the play "Only a matter of time", which I heard about 5 years ago and was just wondering about yesterday. It's one of the best pieces of radio comedy-drama I've ever heard and has stayed with me for all this time. Listen if you can!

Also, comment notifications? Not working *prods LJ* so further delays may occurr...

Comments

[xwingace]

If you're that bored, here's a drabble prompt: Discworld, something with Casanunda. Possibly trying to charm Sacharissa?

Although I'd also love to see something from that Ellis Island fic...

XWA

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Casanunder and Sacharissa? *brain explodes* :) Will see what I can do.

The Ellis Island one is mostly still in my head, but I'll get a few sentences down for you.

[szm.livejournal.com]

Could you write something where Lu-Tze (the sweeper from Discworld) meets Ianto?

I had a random thought about Ianto being a bit like him yesterday... might just be me...

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

It may well just be you, but I will see what I can do :)

[szm.livejournal.com]

I thinks it's the whole thing where techinquely they are cleaners but really they pretty much run the place... Great now I'm drawing paralles between Jack and the abbot, I hate my brain.

Also is yahoo playing up for you is it just me?

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...I kind of see it... :)

I think it's LJ rather than Yahoo - I use the message thingy in LJ to keep track of comments, and they're not even showing up there, so I think the comment notification widget must be on the blink.

[xwingace]

It should be an explosive combination, yes. :-)

Everyone seems to have seized on the javelin comment, but the Ellis Island thing seems much more interesting to me. Not least what Jack would be doing there.

XWA

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

If you'd like to share a bit of the Jack in prison fic, that would be lovely.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see a happy Jack, Ten and Martha story.

Or something about Jack in Victorian times - perhaps a crossover, or a meeting with a Victorian character.

[travels-in-time.livejournal.com]

The image of Jack in Victorian period clothing has been breaking my brain since the 1860's confirmation, so yes.

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

It's just taken me about four days to log into my yahoo.com account, but my yahoo.co.uk is working fine. So maybe it's a problem with American based servers? *scratches head* *pokes LJ with stick*

Drabble - I'd like Ianto/OMC please. And yes, that is a slash there *evil grin* I don't know why, but I'm in a real Ianto-is-manwhore place at the moment. Which is making writing happy!Jack/Ianto incredibly difficult, cos Ianto keeps checking out other men/women while Jack sits there sulking and going 'but I'm pretty! Look at me!'

[travels-in-time.livejournal.com]

I've already got my two requests in, so I'll wait patiently on them!

Just put something up over on torchwood_meta, but I had great difficulties with it, so feel free to go over and tweak/add to/adjust it in any way. Not only was it hard to not just monologue at great length about what I think--which would seem to be negating the point of getting a discussion started--but it really, really wanted to branch off into an investigation of the recurring themes of humanity throughout this season.

Me, rambling? Un-possible!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Me too! It's... irresistible.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

You may get a drabble yet, but this is a possible/probably opening to the Ellis Island one:

Jack kept his head down along with everyone else, staring at the floor as he waited for his name to be called. Well, not his name, of course, nor the assumed one that he'd become so fond of. He'd ditched the accent too, figuring that an American trying to emigrate into America wasn't going to sound too convincing. The room was crammed with people, dirty and tired from the long voyage, and the air was thick with nerves and the smell of too many bodies in too small a space. He felt safe here, packed in with all the others. For once he wasn't going to be stared at for his accent, his looks, his manners. Here, no-one cared about anything but themselves.

A name was called and a man stood up, a thin dark-haired woman clinging to his arm and a sleeping child in his arms. Jack watched as they made their way across the huge room, jealousy and pity swirling through his mind. It would be harder, surviving in this new country with a family to support as well as everything else. But he watched how the man cradled the child and how the woman rested her head against his shoulder and he found himself having to look away, back at the floor.

Burying the feelings, he forced himself to stay calm. Part of him, the part that he'd relied on to keep him sane these past twnety years, wondered if he shouldn't have acquired a wife and child to give him a better cover story. The corners of his mouth twitched with the twisted humour. Families were for life, not just for Christmas.

"What are you laughing at?"

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*re-checks post*

Drabble! You saw the bit that said drabble, right? *sigh* But now I have the plot bunnies and am stuck with them.

You're still getting drabbles though. Probably. ;)

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Look, just because the survey said you were evil, doesn't mean you have to live up to it.

OMC. Another OMC? You'll be wanting jealous!Jack in there as well next....

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

The Hugh story is giving me headaches. Fortunately, I've got my betas to share them with, so that's alright. Now, if I can just get my betas to agree with each other, all will be well.

I'll wander over and have a look at your tw_meta post, but I'm sure it's fine!

Will let you know about period costume...

[xwingace]

That's quite a bitter note to end that fragment on, but I like bitter, in moderation. :-) Looks intruiguing, to say the least.

typo:twnety == twenty

XWA

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

You saw the bit that said drabble, right?

Oh, I did. I did! And I have every faith in you to fit all that into 100 words. Piece o' cake.

If you want revenge, throw me a drabble challenge in return.

(P.S. I love drabbles, I really do.)

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

*grin* Evil? Moi?

You can re-use one of my OMCs if you want, or one of yours. Or an entirely new and shiny one...

And if you want to give me jealous!Jack on the sidelines, who am I to argue?

(and if you'd like to write a ficlet rather than a drabble, y'know, that would be nice...*feeds bunnies carrots* ;))

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

if I can just get my betas to agree with each other, all will be well.

*giggles* Are we giving you conflicting advice again? Or do I love the bits Chrys hates and vice versa?

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

If the bunnies aren't careful, it's going to be rabbit stew for dinner...

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

I'm waiting to see what she thinks of the revisions, since they were her idea. *sigh* I'm just really, really hoping she agrees with you, or I'm in real trouble. :)

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I figure that there's got to be an element of bitterness somewhere - it's there in Utopia - and I need a good reason for him to get in a fight. "Looking at me funny" is pretty much the oldest reason there is...

I've managed to intrigue myself, which is most distracting when I'm trying to write other stories :)

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Sorry – this developed a plot and so is a bit longer than a drabble. Um, 415 words longer than a drabble, actually, but hope you enjoy anyway.

I'll try and get the other one done in 100 words :)

---

Downtime

"Can we keep it?" Martha looked up hopefully, without letting go of the little creature.

"Him, technically," the Doctor corrected, "and no, I'm sorry. But hang onto him while we're here. I think he likes you."

Once they were out of earshot, wandering through the dense forest, Jack raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell her."

"What?"

"That those creatures, the Greffin, only live for a planetary rotation. That's what? Twelve Earth hours?"

"About that." The Doctor stopped their wandering, looking back towards the clearing where the TARDIS had landed. Martha was still sitting on the ground, stroking the soft, pink fur and mimicking the chirruping that the Greffin was making. He just hoped it wasn't a mating call. "Do you want to tell her?"

Jack was also watching, with a smile that was so unlike his usual broad grin that he almost looked like a different man. "No, I guess not."

"We'll have to leave before the suns get too hot, anyway. Let her have some fun. There's been little enough of that lately."

"Yeah."

They walked a little further in companionable silence, until the Doctor stirred himself. "And you, Jack, how are you going to have fun while we're here? Clean answers only, please," he added quickly, seeing Jack's face.

Laughing a little, Jack shrugged. "It's pretty quiet here." He tipped his head back, closing his eyes as he lifted his face to the light and took a deep breath. "Guess I'll just enjoy it while it lasts."

"That sounds a bit-"

"What?"

"Well, dull, for you. Isn't it? Thought you'd be asking where the nearest town, nightclub or sentient lifeform could be found."

"Been there, done that. Gets old after a while." He laughed again. "Kind of like me."

"Nah, you're just a kid, compared to me at least. Take your time and enjoy it."

"I intend to."

They stopped by a shallow, fast-moving river, watching the surface glitter under the twin suns. Easing himself down onto the grass, Jack leant back on his elbows and gave a deep, satisfied sigh.

"Lovely."

Still on his feet, the Doctor prodded the grass with the toe of his shoe. "You're disappointing me here, Jack. There's me thinking that you're going to be running off, looking for adventure, excitement and danger, and here's you, sitting and sunbathing."

"Sorry," Jack said, not sounding at all apologetic. After another moment, he sat up again. "Of course," he went on, starting to undo his shirt buttons, "there's sunbathing. And then there's sunbathing."

The Doctor grinned. "Nice to know some things don't change. I'll go warn Martha."

"Don't bother on my account," Jack called after him.

"I'm not!" The Doctor shouted back, still smiling to himself as he made his way back to the clearing. He was fairly sure that Martha wasn't prudish, any more than he was, but there were occasions when Jack made Mata Hari look like a nun and he could take a bit of getting used to. Whichever way Martha reacted, it looked like their brief stay here was going to be fun after all.