TW: Underhanded Tactics epilogue [T]

[lt_indigo]

Fandom:
Torchwood

Title:
Underhanded Tactics

Epilogue:
In the Wake

In which Tosh takes the final step.

Author:
lt_indigo

Pairing(s):
Jack/Ianto/Tosh

Warning(s):
nothing explicit

Disclamer:
Yep, still skint. Still not mine.

Word count:
710

back to Chapter VII

Comments

[badly_knitted]

*wibble*

Is it bad that I feel sorrier for Tosh than I do for Owen? She wanted so badly for Owen to notice her, but now even if he does, what can he offer her besides friendship? All her dreams, plans and schemes have come to nothing.

At least she has two loyal friends who care about her and will do what they can to help her find meaning again, but she knows she can't expect anything permanent from them, because they have each other and ultimately, that means she'll still be alone.

*hugs Tosh*

[lt_indigo]

I always felt bad for Tosh - she always ended up alone in everything she did. Whenever she tried to break away from Owen, she still ended up in a really unhealthy relationship and got her heart broken. Jack and Ianto care deeply, but not in the same way.

The weird thing with this fic is that at the beginning (you might remember me mentioning it), they tried desperately to actually make a go of a triad relationship, and it probably would have worked nicely. I fought them to keep it in line with canon, but once they cooperated, the epilogue practically wrote itself. It would happen, but not in a nice, fluffy way.

[badly_knitted]

Tosh deserved so much more than she ever got. None of the team got happy relationships or happy-ever-afters except Gwen, which makes me resent her more. The ones that truly deserved happiness didn't get it. Only the white heterosexual couple got a happy ending. This annoys me. I expected better.

[lt_indigo]

I never really looked at it that way before. Probably because I tend to look at the Whoniverse as a whole, and there's Martha and Mickey, and Vastra and Jenny (and, seriously, what is the world's problem with them? They're *gorgeous*), and even Rani and Clyde looked like there was something going on there (and apparently Luke was supposed to bring a boyfriend home from Oxford).

I'm also not altogether sure that Gwen and Rhys would be happily ever after. It looks that way on the surface, but Gwen will never let Torchwood go, and I'm not sure Rhys would put up with her shit forever. I can totally see him leaving her and taking Anwen with him, to keep her safe.

No, no, God no, I can't start writing that too. That's just completely gratuitous Gwen-bashing for the sheer hell of it...

[ukdramafan]

Thank you so much for finishing this, rather than leaving it abandoned. The ending wasn't hopeful, but it was comforting. Also, loved the format of using footnotes, something I haven't encountered in fanfiction before.

[lt_indigo]

I read a series of Enterprise fanfics years ago that used footnotes, but it wasn't something I consciously set out to emulate. They just evolved as I was writing - things wanted to be said that didn't quite fit with the narrative, and footnoting them seemed like the best way to allow them to be written

[jo02]

I'm so glad you were able to finish this for us, I really appreciate it.

I'm also glad that Tosh ended up with Jack and Ianto in the end, even if it was for one night. That just feels like the right ending for me.

Thank you!

[lt_indigo]

My pleasure, really. I never intended to leave it unfinished: I just wrote myself into a chasm of despair.

When I first started out, the three of them tried so hard to hop into bed anyway - it would have been so easy to let the story go that way instead. I felt that it had to happen, but really for the wrong reasons. Jack and Ianto do love Tosh, but not like that; not really.

I'm really glad you liked the ending.