Fic: Unbidden

[lefaym]

Title: Unbidden
Author: lefaym
Betas: jo02 who took the crappy first draft I sent her and beat it into shape with her MIGHTY SKILLZ, and used_songs who suggested some perfect finishing touches.
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing(s): Lisa/Ianto, Jack/Ianto
Summary: Ianto tries to remember Lisa as she was.
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: RTD and the BBC own everything.
Spoilers/

Comments

[hab318princess]

heartbreaking, beautifully written and I love the juxtaposition of Lisa and Jack...

[lefaym]

Thank you-- I'm glad the juxtaposition worked for you.

[etmuse]

I love fics that show the turmoil and confusion in Ianto's mind after Fragments, and this was one of the better ones in that category.

[lefaym]

Thank you-- that's such a lovely comment.

[etmuse]

I know how hard it is to write (tried it myself in the first chapter of my WIP) so I recognise when it's done well

[lefaym]

I definitely had to play around with it a lot before I had something that I felt comfortable posting, and even then I wasn't sure if it really worked, so knowing that you think I did a good job is very encouraging. :)

[neifile7]

This was a great premise, to show Ianto going directly from the warehouse to Lisa and trying to sort out his physical and emotional reactions like this.

I've long had an idea that Ianto might reach a point, during his long caretaking vigil, where fantasizing about Lisa and their memories would become too painful. And of course Jack would fill in the gap very nicely, whatever Ianto's ambivalences about him. You convey that mood of being caught in between well. I also have a bit of a kink for stories about Ianto being in denial, about Lisa and recovering their lost life -- beautifully conveyed here.

[lefaym]

I'm glad this worked for you! :)

I think it would be very difficult for Ianto not to dissociate from Lisa physically after her conversion, and what I really saw happening in Fragments was that Ianto suddenly realised, in the warehouse, that he could move on, instead of hanging onto the past. Of course he'd be in denial about this -- in fact, I think that his reactions in cyberwoman were probably exasserbated by his guilt that part of him (even if it was not a fully acknowledged part) had already started to move on.

Thank you for your lovely comments -- you go into such detail, and give the the opportunity to rattle on about what was in my head when I was writing! :)

[neifile7]

That's what comments are for -- having dialogue with story and writer, eh?

I don't, however, see Ianto realizing he can move on in Fragments -- I think he's far too invested in Lisa and their old life, still -- but I do see him recognizing that he's capable of feeling other things, ones that blur the neatly drawn boundaries of his life. And he responds with equal measures of excitement and guilt, something that comes across well here.

[lefaym]

Well, I don't think it's a conscious realisation -- I agree that he's still too invested in Lisa at this point. But I do think it's the point when his subconscious starts moving on -- and then his conscious mind reacts against that fiercely, causing him to dig his heals in so much further

[nancybrown]

And another lovely story from before. :) I like the juxtaposition of thoughts. I think you captured something here that's very S1 Ianto, trying to be two people at the same time.

[lefaym]

Thank you! I think that Ianto was always trying to be too people, given what we learned in CoE.