Drabble: Bad Timing

[bk_forever]

Title: Bad Timing

Author: badly_knitted

Characters: Jack, Ianto, Owen, Gwen.

Rating: G

Written For: Challenge 370: Old Age at tw100

Spoilers: Nada.

Summary: Alien technology doesn’t always cause problems at convenient moments.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.

Torchwood’s latest brush with alien technology had resulted in Owen and Gwen being de-aged. It was unfortunate timing as Tosh was in Japan visiting her family.

“Look, we’ve seen things like this before,” Jack told them. “Tosh always makes comprehensive notes on all technology she studies. You’ve got nothing to worry about, I’ll soon have you both back to normal.”

Famous last words.

An hour later, Jack had managed to reverse the de-aging, resulting in two of his agents becoming old age pensioners somewhat prematurely.

“Oh well. At least they’re not kids anymore,” Ianto sighed. “Back to the drawing board.”

The End

Comments

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

I never saw the Doctor's relationship with Jack that way. Nine flirted a little bit, but I thought that was to wind Jack up.

It wasn't even just Martha and Donna that Ten told Jack to "Back off" from. Jack tried to flirt with chantho, and Ten said "Stop it!" as well. The Doctor alway's was constantly giving Jack a hard time.

I think the Doctor can't be paired up romantically with a human even if they are immotal. Although I tend to ship Donna with Ten in my fic's because they acted like a real married couple who had been together forever. I read platonic fic's of them as well.

But since Ten is suppose to be alien, I absolutely loathe that RTD made the Doctor falling for Rose canon. She didn't deserve it.

I can't believe some people compare Rose's relationship with Ten in the same capacity as Lois and Clark!. I barely manage to accept River Song with the Doctor. But at least in that case River was more realistic about her expectation's of the Doctor.

All this talk of Gwen got me so worked up. But if I can't find anything useful to reference then I don't have to worry any further about it I suppose.

[bk_forever]

The Doctor is so alien, despite his human looks, it just doesn't work pairing him with any human, but especially not a teenage girl.

I think the Doctor just didn't approve of the person he thought Jack was, but there was a lot more to Jack than the Doctor ever really saw. I love that Jack is so flirty, but just because he flirts doesn't mean he has any intention of following through, it's just the way he is.

Lois and Clark was completely different. Clark was raised on Earth, as a human.

Best to make up your own mind about Gwen and not stress yourself over it.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

The only constructive part of the unhealthy pairing of a teenage girl and the Doctor, is that there won't be a repeat of that story line.

Donna was the only one who never forgot he was an alien. But RTD made it clear that Ten was not her "type" either, even if he was a human. If Amy saw Eleven in his "old age" stage, like Martha did with Ten, would she have jumped him?. I don't think so. Just because he looked young made it OK?. Age is just a number if the man look's "hot", apparently. According to RTD it was OK for Rose to lust after him because Ten reciprocated, even though he never expressed it for whatever reason.

I would never personally compare Rose to Lois let alone Clark to the Doctor. Lois is an adult and has a functional relationship with Clark which made their partnership plausible.

The only thing that Clark Kent and the Doctor have in common is that they are not human's and they like to protect planet Earth. Their characteristic's, motivation's and backstory are different from each other.

Some people like to also compare Rose and the Doctor pairing to Buffy and Angel. I think Buffy was more mature than Rose was.

In regard's to Gwen Cooper. There are still A LOT of post's that are "Anti-Gwen" than "Pro-Gwen". Which doesn't surprise me. But it made me think that it's possible that RTD wrote Gwen's "stupidity" as a jumping off point to create "character growth" for her. I'm grasping at straws I'm sure.

[bk_forever]

I don't think RTD sees anything that Gwen does as 'stupid', he's blinded by his infatuation with the character. Plus, as far as I can tell, Gwen didn't grow as a character.

Too many of the companions seem to focus on the Doctor's looks, forgetting that he's hundreds of years old. They like travelling with this hot guy. That's where Classic Who was better, because the Doctors back then were mostly older and not conventionally attractive. Peter Capaldi harks back to that style of Doctor.

Superman and Doctor Who are worlds apart, even if there are some superficial similarities. You're right about the Lois/Clark relationship being more mature.

Buffy was a lot more mature than Rose because of the responsibility of being the Slayer. She had to grow up fast, and it wasn't easy. Rose was free to do whatever she wanted, so she was a typical teen, often thoughtless and too busy having fun to think about responsibility.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

I vaguely remember Gwen being tolerable in "Miracle Day" but only because the new guy they got was obnoxious. For someone who was infatuated with Gwen, RTD wrote her like he hated her.

Ten mention's his alien biology to both Rose and Martha and they disregarded it. At least Martha did for a while.

Eleven keep protesting to Amy, even mentioning how old he is. Then Amy automatically think's that mean's his just abstained from sex for a long time. I've discussion's with other people on another post and this is usually the response I get:

(1) She just wanted hurt/comfort sex with anyone.
(2) The "crack" was why Amy was acting so wrong.
(3) Telling Rory it was more than a kiss would hurt his feeling's.

I still didn't like that Moffat had to make that scene as part of the series 5 mystery plot. So, I was thankful when Amy and Rory finally got married in the finale. Because trying to cheat on your fiance is OK?.

Peter Capaldi insisted in breaking the "Doctor is hot" format and I'm glad he did!. Not because his "old" looking, but for the "Bachelor" vibe that was going on in the new series. That is not what the Doctor is about.

The Doctor can be attractive because of his capabilities but his not some "pin up boy"!. I really wanted to do a Ianto "eye roll" myself every time there was a "flirt fest" going on during Ten and Eleven's era. With Nine I can remember a moment between him and that tree lady but at least it was subtle.

In Smallville it took about five season's for Lois and Clark to get together. The dynamic between them before they were in a relationship was how Ten and Donna were in general. That's why I keep shipping them even though they were "just friend's".

Your right that Buffy had hardship's and her destiny as the slayer to deal with. But even when she became overwhelmed by life, you could still sympathize with her. Buffy's father walked out on her, but at least she had Giles.

Rose had no life experience's to learn from and had "daddy issues". She may have been a teenager, but she had unrealistic expectation's of people sometimes because she was self-absorbed.

(1) Stringing Mickey along.
(2) Wanting an "adult" relationship with the Doctor.

I guess if you are not taught values or haven't endure hardship's, you become selfish?.

I hope I don't sound too harsh but that's just my perspective.

[bk_forever]

Teenagers are often self-absorbed and selfish though. Not all teenagers of course, but it seems to be growing more common. Rose seemed typical of that kind of teenager.

I didn't like Amy throwing herself at Eleven, but maybe it was because she'd waited so long for him to come back and part of her thought that might be what it would take to get him to stay or take her with him. She'd probably had all these fantasies about him throughout her childhood and teens, so much so that she confused fantasy with reality for a while. Ultimately though, she realised that Rory had always been the only one.

I still haven't seen all of Smallville, I think I've got the first five seasons on DVD but I really need to get the rest.

I don't really ship the Doctor with anyone for a physical relationship, except maybe River, but I ship him a lot on an intellectual level, the meeting of minds. That's what makes him attractive, no matter what his physical appearance is like. A brilliant mind is exciting.

Buffy had a tragic hero thing going, she never completely crumbled, but she did find her life overwhelming at times. She struggled a lot with self-doubt, and what she wanted to do as opposed to what she had to do. She wasn't perfect, she was human and she knew it. Gwen thinks she knows best and is infallible. Buffy knew she wasn't but she tried her best.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

Too bad we never saw Rose mature.

I can understand Amy being infatuated by the Doctor. I just don't like the concept of a woman thinking she has to use her sexuality to get what she want's. What happened to the concept of talking?. Would she have done the same thing to Twelve?. It's a good thing she didn't crack onto Jack. But I guess the point was that scene wasn't meant to be seen as okay.

The same scenario happened with Ten and Reinette. She grew up waiting for her "Lonely Angel". First thing she does when she see's him again as an adult, is lay one on him. Ten was bad at pushing people away when they kissed him. Actually he was quite smug about it. But that's all she does and she was a mistress. Unless something happened behind the scenes.

The Doctor seriously must stop seeing women in their bedroom's. Although with Twelve it was a different vibe. Clara was angsty over Danny.

In regards to Smallville. I got it on Foxtel. I almost didn't watch because of the Lana stuff. I was waiting for Lois to appear. I'm surprised they made Lois a bit older than Clark.

I can't deny the fact that Moffat has made the Doctor more sexual now it's canon that he did have relation's with River Song.

Eleven: "And Doctor Song, in prison all her days?" "Her days, yes. Her nights… well, that's between her and me, eh?".

I'm not attracted to men who show off their six-pack. There has to be something else about them that make's me allured to them. Intellect and a good personality is a good combination. Cliche as that sound's. I manage to watch Smallville without being attracted to Tom Welling. But I did find him adorable when Clark was in a awkward situation.:)

I was about the same age as Buffy when I first watch it and I can totally relate to the whole overwhelming/self-doubt thing she felt. Except my problem's were about anxiety, family and other thing's that stress you out in life. I liked her sarcasm and sense of humor.

Buffy: I'm Buffy and your history!.

Gwen had no one to deflate her ego.

[bk_forever]

Yeah, I think that was one of the problems with Gwen. Too much ego and no one willing to take her down a peg or two. Jack tried occasionally but always caved.

The thing with Clark was that he was more mature than most boys his age, so he would've found a more mature woman more appealing than someone younger. I found Lex more attractive than Clark in Smallville. But I'm a dirty old woman, most of the actors who appeal to me are young enough to be my son, lol! I like to look at the pretty ones, but that doesn't mean I'd date them. For me, it's kindness and a sense of humour that I find most attractive.

Yeah, that scene showed that Amy didn't always make good decisions, but at least she learned and became better, realising that Rory was all she needed and accepting the Doctor as just a really good friend, almost a brother in a way.

Reinette was a grown woman who was used to using her womanly charms to gain status and position. That was how things worked for her in the time she was born into. Some women still use sex to manipulate men, and men let them, they even encourage that. I prefer to see that approach not working on the Doctor, he should be above that, but I guess he just doesn't really know how to deal with it when women throw themselves at him. He never seems to expect it, I think he's a bit out of his depth. Human women are hard for him to understand.

Buffy was very grounded, and she used humour as a coping mechanism a lot of the time. She was a good person, very supportive of her friends and very caring towards others. Not like Gwen who was only out for herself.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

Gwen is an alpha female, but sometimes she took it too far with the shouting and the punching. Jack must have been sick and tired of arguing with her. It is exhausting to get angry with someone who is clearly not going to listen.

I didn't mind that Lois was older than Clark. My brother use to date girl's slightly older than him and I became friend's with them so I can see the appeal.

Ditto about Amy.

I get why Reinette acted the way she did. It was the norm back in that period and how she was raised. At least in her case it was reasonable for her to snog the Doctor. Ten alway's got kissed that the intimacy of the act became insignificant.

Someone should do a fic where the Doctor mistake's the movie "Earth Girl's Are Easy" for a documentary then realizes it is not.

I wished I had Buffy's coping mechanism when I was a teenager. Gwen act's like those typical spoiled brat.

[bk_forever]

Someone should do a fic where the Doctor mistake's the movie "Earth Girl's Are Easy" for a documentary then realizes it is not.

LOL! I'd read that"

I think that's why Jack kept letting Gwen have her own way. She was never going to listen to him and it just got exhausting trying to get through to her. All he could do was hope if he let her have her way she might learn from her mistakes. Sadly she never did, just blamed everyone else when thing went wrong.

Buffy is still a great role-model; for teens. I was about twice Buffy's age when the show aired over here but she was an inspiration, I wished that I was a brave as she was.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

I would have said the Doctor read a book for "Dummies", but then I thought that he'd think his superior brain was above a title like that.

Someone wrote a fic where the the Tenth Doctor read's a "How to" book on his unrequited love for Donna?. I forgot the name though.

I really wanted Jack to really snap at Gwen and go:
"Shut up!. When you have known the pain of being killed and revived as many time's as I have, that's when you can complain!".

Or have the Doctor go over to Torchwood to lecture her. He has that whole intimidation thing going on for him. Gwen was lucky that the Doctor was AWOL during series three, he would have given her a scolding. At least I'd like to think that could have happened.

I'm glad that Joss Whedon got to make Buffy the TV series because the original movie wasn't as good. I think it had to do with the fact that he didn't have much creative control over it.

[bk_forever]

Yeah, the Buffy movie was just a joke.

Gwen was so full of herself that I'm not sure she would've listened to anyone, she would have told the Doctor that he's not human so he can't possibly understand what her life is like.

I can easily see Eleven reading a book for dummies, lol! That seems like a very Eleven thing to do. I so want to write something with him, Knitting For Beginners, a ball of wool and a pair of knitting needles. One day I will get around to that one!

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

I think it made it more plausible that Sarah Michelle Geller did most of her stunt's and has a brown belt in karate. The movie was like a parody of the series. Sorry Kristy Swanson. If Gwen wouldn't listen to the Doctor, he could have found a way to punish her for it. Look how well he treated Harriet Smith when they disagreed on how to deal with hostile alien's. She was a good character. The Eleventh Doctor was seen the most having his nose deep in a book. He even wore the reading glasses that Amy left behind. Although is that really a good idea to read with someone else's prescription glasses?. He was reading a book when he was "stalking" Clara and while waiting in the TARDIS for her to arrive on her motorbike I could Imagine Eleven chucking the "Dummie's" book out when he didn't agree with the content's. He could then try watching the movie, "What women Want". In the fic I mentioned before with Donna, Ten chuck's the book out and Toshiko is the one that pick's it up.

[bk_forever]

Yes! Parody, that's the word I couldn't think of before. Such a disappointing movie, but the series was awesome.

I haven't read that fic, but then I don't get much time to read these days. Too much writing to do.

I wish the Doctor had come along and punished Gwen, he could have made it stick even if she refused to listen to him.

I liked Eleven being a bit of a bookworm. He probably soniced the glasses so he could wear them. A sonic screwdriver can fix anything!

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

I think that a lot of the behind the scenes stuff contributed to the fail of it. It's a good thing Joss Whedon didn't give up on the concept and gave us a really cool TV series. Usually it is the movie's that are better than the TV series.

I read that Ten fic a few year's ago. I always thought of the Doctor pining for Donna adorable. I didn't expect Toshiko at the end.

It's funny that Gwen was checking the Doctor out in "Journey's End" saying he didn't look that old.

Of course,the sonic screwdriver!. I forgot. That's a good thing, as long as Eleven doesn't damage his retina's.

[bk_forever]

Yeah, Joss believed in his idea and he was right to, it was so cool.

Gwen checks out all good-looking men, she's never truly satisfied with what she's got.

The Doctor can always rely on his sonic. Well, mostly. Doesn't work on wood, lol!

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

I wanted to wipe that smile off Gwen's face. The Tenth Doctor should have said "Don't!" at her instead of Jack and Donna.

I did like Ianto's reaction and Jack glancing at him awkwardly. Ianto got jealous!. He didn't know that the Doctor had Rose to deal with.

The wood thing. I though the Doctor was going to make a setting for that. Instead he changed his sonic tool into sunglasses's.

[bk_forever]

I can't get used to the sonic sunglasses! They're cool, but I keep expecting him to whip out his trusty screwdriver.

Ianto's not too happy with the Doctor anyway because of how he treats Jack. I'm sure Jack has told him everything by now ;)

Gwen needs to stop looking around and focus on her husband. Rhys deserves better.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

The sonic screwdriver is as iconic as the TARDIS. You instantly think of the Doctor when you think about it. Whereas with the sunglasses, it's wearable technology. Which is something you see in almost every other Sci-Fi or action TV show.

Moffat is just trying to mix it up I suppose. At least there isn't any innuendo and Twelve is protecting his eyes during the day time. I don't know about how it works at night.

Ianto: He's not that young.

I hadn't realize that little dig at the Doctor could have been more in depth. I also didn't take it too seriously because Jack is technically "older" than the Doctor at that point I think. I'm not sure what RTD's was aiming for.

I thought that Ianto could have been saying it just to stop Gwen perving at Ten. They were in the middle of a major crisis!.

Since the Doctor recognized Gwen because of her ancestor, she got more attention than Ianto. I did like the way Jack is proud of introducing his team to Ten though.

Once again RTD finds another excuse to state that David Tennant is good-looking. Like I need to be told if I think his hot or not.

[bk_forever]

RTD is heavy-handed with a lot of stuff. This was Doctor who, but he still found a way tp put Gwen centre-stage. I think Ianto is as tired ass everyone else of seeing Gwen throw herself at men. After all, Ianto would be the first person to say that age isn't important. Jack really would have been technically older than the Doctor at that point, though in real terms it would depend on how much of his close to two thousand year burial he'd actually been alive. I suspect most of that time he would have been more dead than alive.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

RTD put almost every character in one box.

*Rose is the best regardless.

*Ten is hot/nerd cute. Lets have women force themselves on him.

*Donna is not?. Because she isn't attracted to the Doctor.

*Gwen being passive-aggressive = super heroine.

*Jack must suffer for dramatic effect.

*Martha must be disregarded despite how awesome she is.

I could go on and on.

I read a meta on Jacks timeline just to comprehend what he was doing when but I still don't know for sure how old he technically is.

[bk_forever]

Those are great synopses! It shows how one-track RTD gets when designing characters, he doesn't allow for flexibility, they're rigidly set. That's not good writing. Characters need to have space to evolve.

I doubt that even Jack could work out how old he is. Bouncing around in time does that.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

Those are my alternative titles for RTD'S interpretation of them. Here are the original titles and my definition of what they mean:

*Rose: Bad Wolf. I still think its a weird name.

*Ten: The Oncoming Storm. Sounds like a weather forecast announcement. Ten even resented that title.

*Donna: The Most Important Woman in the Universe. I quite like this one. Minus the memory wipe.

I think of Donna as "Miss Universe". Beauty Pageant style. Her in a tiara and sash saying into the microphone "You called me Miss, do I look single?. Who cares I just saved the UNIVERSE with my temping skills!".

Jack: The man who can't die. But RTD sure liked killing him over and over again. Just to make sure viewers knew about Jacks immortality. I thought Angel had hardships!. But compare his to Jacks?!. Also Jack should have met River Song so she could help advise him on having a diary to keep track of his age, current events etc.

Martha: The girl who walked the Earth. For a year!. I prefer to say "Young Woman" instead of girl. I can barely walk to the bus stop. That takes some skill.

Gwen: ?. What was her role anyway?. Besides taking up screen time away from other characters on Torchwood?.

[bk_forever]

Gwen was supposedly the heart of Torchwood, there to remind everyone what it means to be human. Yeah, because she's such a paragon. A selfish, hypocritical compulsive liar, she shows all the worst parts of what it means to be human. At least she showed the rest of the team how NOT to behave.

I love your Donna! I can so see her doing that!

I kinda like The Oncoming Storm, it's ominous.

Jack just went through Hell repeatedly, RTD went out of his way to make him miserable. Poor Jack. I keep making Ianto immortal so that Jack gets to keep him. He loses so many people over the years, it's only fair that he should get to keep one.

[cynthia2015.livejournal.com]

"At least she showed the rest of the team how NOT to behave."
Right!. "The heart of Torchwood". I forgot I referred to that once already. Silly me!.:D

More like: "A NASTY THORN IN TORCHWOOD'S SIDE!.

I think I forgot because she didn't act like it!. Her character was so ridiculous most times that I felt there was suppose to be a pay off. Nope. RTD just made her that way. I don't know what Eve Myles was thinking. Gwen should have gone to etiquette classes or something.

I don't usually like beauty pagents, but I did like the movie Miss Congeniality. Women should not be portrayed as the one body type that we usually see from these events.

Maybe I have misgiving about "The Ongoing Storm" because it paints the Doctor as dangerous. You have to get to the end of the speech to hear that his wonderful after knowing that his full of ice and rage. But I can't deny it can be a useful way to intimidate in life or death situations.

The Eleventh Doctor had the "silver of ice in his heart" speech from that medium in "Hide".

I wonder if Twelve will have a title.

If only Jack had one of those immortal chips.