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fandomweekly2021-07-25 02:11 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fandomweekly2021-07-25 02:11 pm
Entry tags:
[#101] KING FOR A DAY (TORCHWOOD)
Theme Prompt: #101 - Nobility
Title: King for a day
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Jack and Ianto get a little bit more than a warm welcome.
As the crowd of aliens swarmed around Jack, Ianto's initial reaction was one of panic.
They'd only stopped here to take a trip into market and see what provisions they could restock before heading back out amongst the stars. It was a lifestyle Ianto was getting used to - their slightly nomadic wanderings the earth equivalent of jumping in a caravan and just letting the road take them where it would. There was simply too much universe to explore and no real way of deciding where to start. Whilst Ianto was a planner, he'd gotten used to the spontaneity.
Of course spontaneity was fine when he felt safe, but now things were descending into a state of deep trouble. They'd parked their ship quite a distance from the township, not wanting to cause alarm, as Jack had suggested. Little outposts like this can get twitchy when big ships roll into town. So they'd walked a gentle few miles, enjoying the fresh air, sunshine and solid green swathes of forest.
On reaching the market they'd only just begun browsing when Jack jostled someone by accident and the alien had turned and dropped the large pottery urn it had been carrying. There was a gasp and then a yell and then suddenly everyone was looking at them, pointing and chattering in a language totally indiscernible to Ianto's ears. Their fervour reached a peak as they formed a pack around Jack. There was something about him in particular. Without thinking, Ianto grabbed his hand before the swelling cast of a thousand separated them completely. There was an audible collective gasp and then silence. Instinctual fear buzzed through Ianto as he realised he'd made some terrible mistake.
Then the chatter started up again and the pair of them were completely surrounded as they began to murmur and point at Ianto as well. The swell of aliens began to move like a giant wave, urging them along.
'What's going on?'
'I dunno,' Jack replied.
'Did we offend them?'
'Don't think so. And I'm not getting any "kill them, kill them," vibes.'
'Oh, well that's encouraging,' Ianto replied, wishing his lover would be more useful at times like these. Admittedly, it did seem more like the aliens were excited about something. You didn't have to speak the local lingo to be able to pick up the nuances of their captors. There were no scowls or harsh sounding words directed at them. More an incessant chatter like they were an oddity or amusement. Still, Ianto didn't let go of Jack's hand. If they were in this, they were in this together.
Their progress through the market and deeper into the township was slow on account of the ever growing crowd. As they moved, more and more locals joined the ranks, urging them ever onwards towards something.
Eventually the crowd parted slightly and they were led through a large stone arch. Ianto had to squint and shield his eyes as something large within the inner courtyard blinded him momentarily. When he chanced a second look, he saw that it was a giant statue, carved seemingly from a diamond of impossible size, towering twenty feet tall and sparkling all its colours across the courtyard as sunshine forced through its million facets. Only as a lone cloud passed by, blocking the dazzling display, did Ianto really see what it was a statue of.
'Oh, hell,' he muttered.
'It's a good likeness, don't you think?' came Jack's reply.
'I thought you said you'd never been here before,' Ianto said, still not quite able to grasp the fact that he was staring up at an enormous diamond sculpture of Jack. There was no question it was him. It was near perfect in its detail, right down to the sweep of hair across his forehead.
'I haven't,' Jack assured him. 'Pretty sure, anyway,' he added as if there was now some uncertainty.
'Well, judging by this and the crowd of locals I'd say they think you're some kind of VIP.' If the large palace that lay beyond was any indication, they must have thought he was some kind of royalty.
A couple of aliens emerged from the circle around them and began bowing and scraping before taking them inside. More of them ran around the well kept rooms inside as if they'd not been abandoned for even a day, rushing to bring them clothes and food and to fuss endlessly.
'I think they want us to wear these,' Jack said, picking up a pile of silk as they'd been ushered into a large bedroom and the door closed behind them.
'Well, it's an awful lot of trouble to go to if they just want us dead,' Ianto remarked. It was all happening far too quickly for his liking but Jack just took it in his stride, already trying on the clothes.
'These are nice,' he said, swirling around in a sea of royal and pastel blue, cape and all. 'The pants are so roomy!'
Ianto was less enthusiastic about trading his clothes for the deep purple and lavender silks, but he didn't want to cause trouble for them. The trousers were indeed loose fitting, as was the shirt, brought together around the middle with a wide cumberbund of matching silk. 'I feel ridiculous,' he finally said, even if the silks did feel nice against his skin.
'You look gorgeous,' Jack assured him.
'Okay, but now what? They think you're some kind of nobility. And me by association.'
Jack shrugged it off as if this sort of thing happened every day. 'Is that so bad?'
'We can't stay!'
'Why not?'
'We don't know the first thing about ruling.' Hell, they didn't even speak the language.
'Most people don't. Lots end up being terrible selfish dictators. But you're a good person and you make me a good person. That's as much as anyone could want in a ruler. Besides, we've got forever. A billion trillion years to see the universe. What's a few decades being king?'
Title: King for a day
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Jack and Ianto get a little bit more than a warm welcome.
As the crowd of aliens swarmed around Jack, Ianto's initial reaction was one of panic.
They'd only stopped here to take a trip into market and see what provisions they could restock before heading back out amongst the stars. It was a lifestyle Ianto was getting used to - their slightly nomadic wanderings the earth equivalent of jumping in a caravan and just letting the road take them where it would. There was simply too much universe to explore and no real way of deciding where to start. Whilst Ianto was a planner, he'd gotten used to the spontaneity.
Of course spontaneity was fine when he felt safe, but now things were descending into a state of deep trouble. They'd parked their ship quite a distance from the township, not wanting to cause alarm, as Jack had suggested. Little outposts like this can get twitchy when big ships roll into town. So they'd walked a gentle few miles, enjoying the fresh air, sunshine and solid green swathes of forest.
On reaching the market they'd only just begun browsing when Jack jostled someone by accident and the alien had turned and dropped the large pottery urn it had been carrying. There was a gasp and then a yell and then suddenly everyone was looking at them, pointing and chattering in a language totally indiscernible to Ianto's ears. Their fervour reached a peak as they formed a pack around Jack. There was something about him in particular. Without thinking, Ianto grabbed his hand before the swelling cast of a thousand separated them completely. There was an audible collective gasp and then silence. Instinctual fear buzzed through Ianto as he realised he'd made some terrible mistake.
Then the chatter started up again and the pair of them were completely surrounded as they began to murmur and point at Ianto as well. The swell of aliens began to move like a giant wave, urging them along.
'What's going on?'
'I dunno,' Jack replied.
'Did we offend them?'
'Don't think so. And I'm not getting any "kill them, kill them," vibes.'
'Oh, well that's encouraging,' Ianto replied, wishing his lover would be more useful at times like these. Admittedly, it did seem more like the aliens were excited about something. You didn't have to speak the local lingo to be able to pick up the nuances of their captors. There were no scowls or harsh sounding words directed at them. More an incessant chatter like they were an oddity or amusement. Still, Ianto didn't let go of Jack's hand. If they were in this, they were in this together.
Their progress through the market and deeper into the township was slow on account of the ever growing crowd. As they moved, more and more locals joined the ranks, urging them ever onwards towards something.
Eventually the crowd parted slightly and they were led through a large stone arch. Ianto had to squint and shield his eyes as something large within the inner courtyard blinded him momentarily. When he chanced a second look, he saw that it was a giant statue, carved seemingly from a diamond of impossible size, towering twenty feet tall and sparkling all its colours across the courtyard as sunshine forced through its million facets. Only as a lone cloud passed by, blocking the dazzling display, did Ianto really see what it was a statue of.
'Oh, hell,' he muttered.
'It's a good likeness, don't you think?' came Jack's reply.
'I thought you said you'd never been here before,' Ianto said, still not quite able to grasp the fact that he was staring up at an enormous diamond sculpture of Jack. There was no question it was him. It was near perfect in its detail, right down to the sweep of hair across his forehead.
'I haven't,' Jack assured him. 'Pretty sure, anyway,' he added as if there was now some uncertainty.
'Well, judging by this and the crowd of locals I'd say they think you're some kind of VIP.' If the large palace that lay beyond was any indication, they must have thought he was some kind of royalty.
A couple of aliens emerged from the circle around them and began bowing and scraping before taking them inside. More of them ran around the well kept rooms inside as if they'd not been abandoned for even a day, rushing to bring them clothes and food and to fuss endlessly.
'I think they want us to wear these,' Jack said, picking up a pile of silk as they'd been ushered into a large bedroom and the door closed behind them.
'Well, it's an awful lot of trouble to go to if they just want us dead,' Ianto remarked. It was all happening far too quickly for his liking but Jack just took it in his stride, already trying on the clothes.
'These are nice,' he said, swirling around in a sea of royal and pastel blue, cape and all. 'The pants are so roomy!'
Ianto was less enthusiastic about trading his clothes for the deep purple and lavender silks, but he didn't want to cause trouble for them. The trousers were indeed loose fitting, as was the shirt, brought together around the middle with a wide cumberbund of matching silk. 'I feel ridiculous,' he finally said, even if the silks did feel nice against his skin.
'You look gorgeous,' Jack assured him.
'Okay, but now what? They think you're some kind of nobility. And me by association.'
Jack shrugged it off as if this sort of thing happened every day. 'Is that so bad?'
'We can't stay!'
'Why not?'
'We don't know the first thing about ruling.' Hell, they didn't even speak the language.
'Most people don't. Lots end up being terrible selfish dictators. But you're a good person and you make me a good person. That's as much as anyone could want in a ruler. Besides, we've got forever. A billion trillion years to see the universe. What's a few decades being king?'
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