the invisible lift

This week's WIAD:

"30 June, 1908"
Rating: Mostly Harmless
Challenge: One or more Torchwood operatives are lost in the forest with 7 items in their pockets. Must include a native woodland creature.
Summary: Sometimes, when the past catches up with Jack, it does it literally.

So I've secretly (or not-so-secretly) playing in the side yard with round four of writerinadrawer. We're using AO3 this time around, which is sort of brilliant. Because the first few weeks are always short on word count, I've been holding off on posting until I had enough to really write home about. Enjoy! Comments can go here or over at AO3.

4x01 - "And The Card Attached Would Say..."
Rating: Mostly Harmless
Challenge: Should use "I've been waiting for this..." in dialogue and feature a television show from the 20th Century.
Summary: Owen Harper discovers some of the hazards of receiving personal mail at work.

4x02 - "Bigger Than a China Shop"
Rating: Mostly Harmless
Challenge: A character is awakened by an unexpected sound. Must feature at least two words in a foreign language.
Summary: In which a surveillance assignment doesn't go according to plan.

4x03 - "The Art of Tragedy Was Born in Masks"
Rating: Mostly Harmless
Challenge: Must use a Sports Night episode title as a prompt. I chose "Thespis." Must also include or make reference to an invertebrate.
Summary: Below Torchwood's Cardiff base, who Ianto Jones is may be subjective.

4x04 - "Back Lot Rivalry"
Rating: Mostly Harmless
Challenge: A story in which Torchwood has to set up shop away from the Hub for an extended period. Must feature at least 3 colors of the rainbow.
Summary: Ianto might trust Harwood's to transport goods, but the staff is another matter.

I haven't entirely been avoiding fandom. Because I contributed a little something to this:





Torchwood Virtual Series 3

Outside the government, beyond the police. The last surviving members of Torchwood Three are Earth's final line of defense against an alien universe and …



After the deaths of Toshiko Sato and Owen Harper, Torchwood must start again. Understaffed and overworked, they pick up the pieces under the command of Jack Harkness: time traveler, soldier, Companion and Captain. Along with Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones, Torchwood stands in the face of a swiftly changing universe, facing off against adversaries both terrestrial and alien, while struggling with their own very human hopes and fears.

In the third (virtual) series of Torchwood, secrets are held and revealed, lives are transformed in ways no one expects, and the Earth itself will never be the same.

---

Episode one is already live, and we've also got captain's logs, additional episode materials, and generally the most dedicated team of people running this show I have ever seen. Go check us out!

In light of the disaster in Haiti, I've put my spare copies of three Torchwood spin-off novels -- Something in the Water, Trace Memory, and The Twilight Streets up for auction on eBay to benefit Doctors Without Borders (aka MSF)¹. Bidding starts at $5 US for the set. Cover price on these is a little under $36 US.

100% of the proceeds go to DWB/MSF, and I'm effectively going halfsies on shipping with the auction winner (the domestic US rate for a medium-sized Flat Rate Box is about $10)².

--
¹ I'd offer to write you something, but I'm two charity projects from 2009 behind at the moment, and that would be rude.

²Dogon eye NOT included with purchase. Even if there was, I know how that sort of thing ends. Badly. Banana milkshakes or no.

Title: "One Cup"
Disclaimer: I'm not RTD, I don't work for the BBC, and as much as I might like to, I don't own Jack or Ianto or any part of Torchwood. I do, however, order pizza under that name on principle.
Pairings: Jack/Ianto, wildly understated
Rating: PG
Notes/Summary: In which all Ianto Jones wants is one cup of coffee. Just one. Written for the January 11 prompt at redismycolour (and posted a day late since I took last night off).

( What the others don’t realize is that Ianto doesn’t arrive early to work out of some bizarre OCD tic that requires him to put everything in order before they disorder it. )

Title: "A Bad Bargain"
Disclaimer: I'm not RTD, I don't work for the BBC, and as much as I might like to, I don't own Jack or Ianto or any part of Torchwood. I do, however, order pizza under that name on principle.
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Notes/Summary: In which snow days do not occur. Written for the January 9 prompt at redismycolour.

( The ground’s too warm. )

Title: "The Beautiful Lull"
Disclaimer: I'm not RTD, I don't work for the BBC, and as much as I might like to, I don't own Jack or Ianto or any part of Torchwood. I do, however, order pizza under that name on principle.
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Notes/Summary: In which a shop owner knows the score. Written for the January 7 prompt at redismycolour.

( Jack gets a little lost at the costume shop, which surprises Ianto not at all. )

Title: "Goes To White"
Disclaimer: I'm not RTD, I don't work for the BBC, and as much as I might like to, I don't own Jack or Ianto or any part of Torchwood. I do, however, order pizza under that name on principle.
Pairings: Jack/Ianto, albeit understated
Rating: PG
Notes/Summary: In which the cold is a thing to be reckoned with. Written for the January 5 prompt at redismycolour.

( If Ianto had the presence of mind to describe his actions, he’d call it a desperate attempt to get warm. )

Title: "The Longest Winter"
Disclaimer: I'm not RTD, I don't work for the BBC, and as much as I might like to, I don't own Jack or Ianto or any part of Torchwood. I do, however, order pizza under that name on principle.
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Notes/Summary: In which there is a paradox. Written for the January 3 prompt at redismycolour.

( Except it’s January... )

Last year I missed out on redismycolour. I only heard about it late in the month, and at that point I had a fair few things on my plate and couldn't imagine writing 30 short pieces in a handful of days. This made me sad, because I'd really enjoyed working through the horizonssing prompts a few months before.

And then 2009 kind of went sideways anyway, and I didn't read and post as much as I wanted to, and by the end of the year I decided that one of my resolutions for 2010 is to get back on the horse. It's not the only thing in my life by a long shot, but it's a thing that makes me pretty happy.

So. Here's my Jan 1 piece for redismycolour. I'm only a year late. Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey. Whatever.

Title: New Year's Day
Disclaimer: I'm not RTD, I don't work for the BBC, and as much as I might like to, I don't own Jack or Ianto or any part of Torchwood. I do, however, order pizza under that name on principle.
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Notes/Summary: In which Jack greets the new year. Written for the January 1 prompt at redismycolour.

( The ice rink was still up on New Year’s Day. )