Captain Jack Harkness (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
theendiswherewestartfrom) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
melodiesoflife2017-02-02 11:31 pm
theendiswherewestartfrom) wrote in melodiesoflife2017-02-02 11:31 pm
I Can Run Forever [Open]
What: Shadow Log for Jack Harkness
Who: Anyone is welcome, but specifically, Jack would have told Chiaki, Mary/Kidd, Sparks, K'pandolu, and Ramza that he was about to do this.
Warnings: Spoilers for all of Torchwood, mention of child death, probable mentions of more death, torture, violence, and some not-nice opinions of the Doctor.
After seeing a few other people face their Shadows, Jack has actually become less certain about facing his own. But time is running out, if Jack doesn't want to possibly become a liability in this final fight against Garland or the Calamity, itself. And he knows that his friends will have his back, as he had theirs. He is wearing no Job equipment, just his normal clothes, and the coat he came here wearing, but a pistol belted to his side. He looks up at everybody who chose to be here.
"Thank you. For risking yourselves to be here. I've lived a very long time. Hundreds or thousands of years, depending on how you count it." A tiny smirk of an inside joke. "Done a lot of things I'm not proud of. So I have no idea what's going to come up here. It could be...literally anything," Jack shakes his head and holds his hands out to the sides in a shrug. "Be ready for anything."
He nods to Mogwen, who takes his crystal. "I'm keeping Time Agent. If I'm facing this down, I'll do it as myself."
The machine turns on, and a ghostly Shadow forms, like a humanoid figure pressing at the fabric of this reality, leaving an imprint of itself. Finally, it coalesces into an exact double of Jack, but in full Royal Air Force uniform, complete with an officer's hat on his head. A slow, flirtatious smirk spreads across the Shadow's face.
"Captain Jack Harkness, and who are you?"
The look on Jack's face matches that of his Shadow, and the two of them walk towards each other, circling slightly as if to size the other one up.
"I mean, really. Wow. You never quite notice the effect-" "-until it's right here in front of you. Mmm." "Do we really have to do this here? We could just take this somewhere more private." "I dunno, people like Nevada might appreciate a show." "Hah! Might teach him a thing or two?" "You know, I've always been curious." "If you're as good as you think you are?" "No, I know I'm as good as I think I am." "But you've always wanted to try this." "No potential for paradoxing myself out of the timestream." "It's certainly one way to solve your problems."
A pause, and both figures stop. The amused look doesn't leave Jack's face, but Jack tactically shifts. "And here I thought you were supposed to be everything I was repressing, not shouting from the rooftops."
The Shadow's shoulders sag in mock disappointment. "Ugh. You never used to be business before pleasure. When did you stop being fun?"
"Oh, right, I remember. It was when you killed your grandson."
Dead silence. It seems Jack's Shadow is as good as he is at turning the conversation on a dime. Jack's jaw clenches tight. "I had no choice-"
"You and the Doctor love that phrase, don't you? Washes your hands of so many consequences. You had a choice and you made your choice. At every step of the way. 1965 and 2009. You made the choice to kill Steven Carter."
"To save the world."
"His life wasn't worth it."
Right as Jack might be starting to get his balance back, he takes in a deep breath, but the Shadow continues, sensing an opening.
"Ooh, how about this one? You knew how to close the Rift for decades! Everything that happened to Cardiff from that point forwards? Was on your hands. Because you wanted to see your precious Doctor again."
"If the Rift was closed, the Doctor never came back in 2007. It had to stay open until that point. Any time paradox involving the Doctor-"
"Has a tendency to resolve itself. The version of the Doctor that caused Torchwood to get created was traveling with Rose Tyler, therefore it was one of the two regenerations that you saw. Previous versions of the Doctor who had no idea who you were popped up in London practically once a week, Torchwood right there in the background keeping an eye on him, even though he hadn't created it yet, and it never paradoxed a thing. His timeline is more variable than anyone else's."
"But mine isn't! I still had no idea what I even was, what I am! I needed my answers."
"Damn the world and the consequences, you getting answers is more important. You learned that lesson from the Doc well." The Shadow leans in closer, as if to whisper a secret, but his voice stays just as loud. "That's why you're hoping Kalki is still alive. You want your answers and you want your conscience absolved. Damn the danger that she is to everyone else. You're willing to risk it if it gets you the answers you think you want."
Who: Anyone is welcome, but specifically, Jack would have told Chiaki, Mary/Kidd, Sparks, K'pandolu, and Ramza that he was about to do this.
Warnings: Spoilers for all of Torchwood, mention of child death, probable mentions of more death, torture, violence, and some not-nice opinions of the Doctor.
After seeing a few other people face their Shadows, Jack has actually become less certain about facing his own. But time is running out, if Jack doesn't want to possibly become a liability in this final fight against Garland or the Calamity, itself. And he knows that his friends will have his back, as he had theirs. He is wearing no Job equipment, just his normal clothes, and the coat he came here wearing, but a pistol belted to his side. He looks up at everybody who chose to be here.
"Thank you. For risking yourselves to be here. I've lived a very long time. Hundreds or thousands of years, depending on how you count it." A tiny smirk of an inside joke. "Done a lot of things I'm not proud of. So I have no idea what's going to come up here. It could be...literally anything," Jack shakes his head and holds his hands out to the sides in a shrug. "Be ready for anything."
He nods to Mogwen, who takes his crystal. "I'm keeping Time Agent. If I'm facing this down, I'll do it as myself."
The machine turns on, and a ghostly Shadow forms, like a humanoid figure pressing at the fabric of this reality, leaving an imprint of itself. Finally, it coalesces into an exact double of Jack, but in full Royal Air Force uniform, complete with an officer's hat on his head. A slow, flirtatious smirk spreads across the Shadow's face.
"Captain Jack Harkness, and who are you?"
The look on Jack's face matches that of his Shadow, and the two of them walk towards each other, circling slightly as if to size the other one up.
"I mean, really. Wow. You never quite notice the effect-" "-until it's right here in front of you. Mmm." "Do we really have to do this here? We could just take this somewhere more private." "I dunno, people like Nevada might appreciate a show." "Hah! Might teach him a thing or two?" "You know, I've always been curious." "If you're as good as you think you are?" "No, I know I'm as good as I think I am." "But you've always wanted to try this." "No potential for paradoxing myself out of the timestream." "It's certainly one way to solve your problems."
A pause, and both figures stop. The amused look doesn't leave Jack's face, but Jack tactically shifts. "And here I thought you were supposed to be everything I was repressing, not shouting from the rooftops."
The Shadow's shoulders sag in mock disappointment. "Ugh. You never used to be business before pleasure. When did you stop being fun?"
"Oh, right, I remember. It was when you killed your grandson."
Dead silence. It seems Jack's Shadow is as good as he is at turning the conversation on a dime. Jack's jaw clenches tight. "I had no choice-"
"You and the Doctor love that phrase, don't you? Washes your hands of so many consequences. You had a choice and you made your choice. At every step of the way. 1965 and 2009. You made the choice to kill Steven Carter."
"To save the world."
"His life wasn't worth it."
Right as Jack might be starting to get his balance back, he takes in a deep breath, but the Shadow continues, sensing an opening.
"Ooh, how about this one? You knew how to close the Rift for decades! Everything that happened to Cardiff from that point forwards? Was on your hands. Because you wanted to see your precious Doctor again."
"If the Rift was closed, the Doctor never came back in 2007. It had to stay open until that point. Any time paradox involving the Doctor-"
"Has a tendency to resolve itself. The version of the Doctor that caused Torchwood to get created was traveling with Rose Tyler, therefore it was one of the two regenerations that you saw. Previous versions of the Doctor who had no idea who you were popped up in London practically once a week, Torchwood right there in the background keeping an eye on him, even though he hadn't created it yet, and it never paradoxed a thing. His timeline is more variable than anyone else's."
"But mine isn't! I still had no idea what I even was, what I am! I needed my answers."
"Damn the world and the consequences, you getting answers is more important. You learned that lesson from the Doc well." The Shadow leans in closer, as if to whisper a secret, but his voice stays just as loud. "That's why you're hoping Kalki is still alive. You want your answers and you want your conscience absolved. Damn the danger that she is to everyone else. You're willing to risk it if it gets you the answers you think you want."
no subject
"That's… certainly a way to reconcile," she said, and glanced at Mary, with a quick nod.