My dad just messaged me going "seeing all this 'Save OFMD' stuff made me realise some things never change" and attached a load of pictures he'd dug up from fifteen years ago of me in my 'Save Ianto Jones' fan campaign era.

As much as it made me laugh, it also made me think about something that I've not talked about before: the fact that this is what introduced me to campaigning.

I was a very lost queer (undiagnosed autistic) kid, bullied and lonely and keenly aware that there were a lot of bad things happening in the world, but I had no idea how to begin to even try to change things, or even any awareness that there was anything I could do to change anything.

And then my favourite show killed off my favourite character, and I suddenly accidentally found myself swept up in the mobilisation (without even realising that that was what was happening) of the fan community around me. It's where I learned about the idea of campaigning as, y'know, a thing that I could do. It introduced me to the concept that I could actively try and do things to make a change I wanted to see in the world.

And now that's my actual literal real world adult job. This is what I do in my 9-to-5. Some of the skills I learned and developed at seventeen (and the lessons from the fuck-ups - oh boy there were many of those because I was seventeen) trying to get the BBC to un-dead my favourite bisexual welshman are skills that I now use every day to actually create change (such as writing persuasive emails to influence a specific target).

And I've also used them outside of the 9-5 in the smaller grassroots campaigns I've been involved with. For example, the skills I learned from a fan campaign when I was a teenager helped me play a small part in stopping the deportation of young autistic man, and potentially saved his life.

There's a HUGE amount of crossover/symbiosis between fan campaigns and 'real world' campaigning. A huge number of people involved in these fan campaigns are already involved in organising (or at the very least supporting/donating) for 'real world' issues. And, if they're not, then a fan campaign may well be their introduction to campaigning - a 'wow ok so I can actually do this' moment that inspires them to start pushing for change on other issues too.

It's fantastic if someone goes 'hey, I managed to call Netflix about picking up Our Flag Means Death, which has made me realise maybe I can also cope with picking up the phone to call my political representatives about [insert other issue here]' - and if the strategies they put in place to help them do the Netflix phone call also help them do the political phone calls as well, then that's absolutely brilliant.

The same with getting experience/confidence writing emails, or learning how to create and push a hashtag on social media, or realising the power of taking mass actions (like signing a petition). It even goes so far as inspiring people to follow up a fan campaign donation with an additional donation to a good cause, and helping direct them to some good charities/initiatives to donate to (because sometimes knowing which are the right ones to send your money too is very hard). These are all skills and experiences that can help build both confidence and understanding of how to get involved with campaigning for change, and these are absolutely transferrable to an infinite number of causes.

It's about people feeling empowered to take action: feeling like they can do it, that it's tangible to them as something they can do, and giving them the tools to do it. The endgame in real world advocacy and campaigning is getting stuff done: petitions signed, phone calls made, emails sent, donations collected, rallies attended.

And no one (outside of the internet moral purity police) cares if your journey getting there started with a fan campaign.

coping with ianto's death by making him a silly little playlist for him

torchwood big finish audio stories

sharing is caring >:)

also up for grabs: new and classic who big finish (x) and doctor who novelisations (x)

a list of what’s there + how to play below the cut x

things you’ll find here

torchwood main range (stories 1-68)

the story continues (series 1-2)

torchwood soho (series 1-2)

the lives of captain jack (series 1-3)

the sins of captain john (series 1)

and how to access them

press play!!

if you like to listen at 1.5x speed like me, you can use an independent media player. on ios, press the 3 dots -> open with: [audio player of choice] (i use evermusic)

make and save copies to ensure your favs stay safe!

want something you can't have?

its probably here. if it's not, pop it in the comments/tags and maybe i can perform some kind of magic

happy listening! x

so, one day, you’ll see me die of old age. and just keep going.

i don't know if you're still taking these, but can you do a colour picked bear flag with the restricted items archive?

none of the torchwood audios have good yellows browns or greens but somehow i made it work. i am always still doing these btw just waiting for people to send me more things they want me to make

yall as of tomorrow im gonna start watching miracle day (series 4 of torchwood) is it worth a watch? im gonna watch it anyway, just want your thoughts!

A moodboard for Torchwood One: Machines - 9 to 5 . I've so far listed to the first and second Torchwood One series . I've enjoyed all 3 stories in Machines ,but I have to say my favourite of the second series is 9 to 5 .

I actually don't think I'll ever get over the parallel between Ianto Jones dying because of an alien virus and then the Face of Boe saving a whole world from suffering the same fate.

Because Jack never did forget Ianto. He kept his promise. And his love for him helped him to save thousands of lives. One last time.

Sobbing. Janto will live in my heart forever.

the woobification of ianto jones is my villain origin story. he is a bitch. he is such a catty little shit bro. you're not going to look at this man who flirted his way into a top secret organization to save his girlfriend and say "he's small and cute" not on my watch let hIM BE THE WORST!!

ROUND 2: POLL #1

ROUND 2 ALL POLLS [HERE]

PROPAGANDA BELOW

Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones:

NO PROPAGANDA SUBMITTED

Astarion Ancunín/Wyll Ravengard:

Astarion Ancunín/Wyll Ravengard:

Wyll and Astarion play out as a story of parallels and contrasts. 

Wyll is a monster hunter, and Astarion is a vampire. However, Wyll can be surprisingly reasonable when he learns of Astarion's true nature, to the point that he makes a "pact" with a player character Astarion to not hunt him if Astarion promises not to drink from innocents.

Both Astarion and Wyll are trapped in a relationship with an abuser--Astarion with his vampire sire, Cazador, and Wyll with the devil he contracted with to receive his powers as a warlock, Mizora. (Spoiler: Both Cazador and Mizora cause monsters transformations in Astarion and Wyll.) The way the two react to their bondage contrasts in interesting ways: Astarion latches onto behaving selfishly, his centuries of slavery without any aid convincing him that he needs to focus on gaining power to protect himself, no matter the cost. Wyll responds to his own abuse by clinging to his folk hero persona, the Blade of Frontiers, leading to him being selfless to the point of great personal cost--at one point in the story, Wyll can choose to (spoilers: be bound into his contract with Mizora for an eternity to save his father--the father that banished him from Baldur's Gate at the age of 17 because of his contract.) There's a good chance for them to push each other away from the extremes of selfishness and selflessness to end up more toward the middle, particularly if you choose one of them as the player character. (Spoilers: Astarion can be talked out of sacrificing 700 souls in a demonic ritual to become the Vampire Ascendant with a charisma check, and Wyll's highest stat is charisma. If you're playing as Astarion, you can offer to use your past as a magistrate to try to help Wyll get out of his contract, and it's pretty in character for him to argue against giving up on ever breaking free from it to save Wyll's father.)

The way their romance paths play out also have an interesting mix of contrast and parallels. Astarion is an incorrigible flirt and very quickly pursues a sexual relationship with the player character as long as he reaches a relatively low approval score threshold, while Wyll refuses sex in his romance until the end, because he wants to have a slow, romantic courtship as portrayed in the bardic tales he loves so much. However, (spoilers: Astarion eventually comes to the realization that being forced to prostitute himself to lure victims for Cazador has damaged his self image and relationship with sex, and admits he was initially seducing a romanced player to try to secure protection for himself. Once he hits that point he asks the player to halt sex in their relationship until he can figure out what he himself actually wants. Between this and dev notes found in the game's script that details that Astarion actually DOES want to have non-sexual intimacy, there's a good argument to be made that Wyll's style of romance is actually much closer to what Astarion truly wants in a relationship.)

Both Astarion and Wyll are attracted to all genders, and make comments indicating attraction to each other. Wyll frequently mentions that he finds Astarion charming and beautiful (particularly commenting on his "well-coiffed" hair), and Astarion immediately responds "Wyll" when asked which party member he wants to drink from the most, and eventually admits (if somewhat derisively) that "Wyll's the sort of prince-type I would have once dreamed of marrying. When I was about thirteen."

And the cherry on top of all of this? You can choose to play the game as either Astarion or Wyll, and romance the other. So you can, in a sense, choose to make this pairing canon, at least in your playthrough.

Before joining Torchwood Three, Ianto only knew of Captain Jack Harkness through word of mouth. None of it was particularly complimentary. He would never get into Cardiff as Ianto Jones, Personal Assistant, and so he showed the Captain three faces.

Firstly, he was the sort of man the Captain wanted, if you listened to the gossip. Young, attractive. The sort of guy who hangs around dark parks in tight jeans. He would save your life and then bite your lip. Jack is too old to fall for a pretty face.

Secondly, he was the sort of man Jack needed, if you listened to the bitching. Lost, alone, looking for a hero. He's been through hard times and needs purpose. Needs a dashing man whose feet he could kiss. Jack is too old to fall for a sob story.

Thirdly, with nothing else left, he lets the mask slip. He was the type of man Jack understood. Smart, determined, quick on his feet. He could come up with a way to save the creature and put his body on the line to see it through.

Jack will always fall for a clever man in a suit.

im sorry but no surprises by radiohead is so coe ep4 its insane

"His name was Ianto jones, he saved the world."

-Coffee audio/big finish

you're laughing. Ianto Jones got into Torchwood because he was such a pathetic loser weirdo that Yvonne Hartman latched onto him and made him her little meow meow and you're laughing? Me too.

Blind Summit is making me feel shrimp emotions holy shit. Just . Everything. Ianto Jones being silly but also trying to survive the crushing weight of the world. The utter GUT PUNCH at the end where he says he doesn't want to devieve people because he thinks he'll be good at it with the DEVASTATING Ballad of Ianto Jones in the background?? The entire audio just forces you to remember how young he was and how full of life he was before the fall/joining Torchwood in general, how from the beginning he was always someone who would do anything to save someone. He didn't want to become a torchwood operative and he didn't want to deceive anyone and the first real thing you ever learn about Ianto Jones is that he was a liar who deceived the entire Torchwood team. I am not okay

ianto jones is the most character of all time. he says he's not into men while literally having a boyfriend. he gets frustrated at being the one who always has to look after everyone else but is offended by the suggestion of someone else making the coffee. he will have kinky stopwatch sex and play naked hide-and-seek but draws the line at jack's office fetish. he knows his boyfriend can't die but pulls the 'i'm not leaving you!' card anyway. he screams at jack and calls him worse than any monster they've faced then falls in love with him. he refuses to give up on his cyber girlfriend even AFTER she turns into a killing machine. he had a goth phase where he was really into finnish heavy metal (which slaps by the way). he will shoot his teammates without hesitation if it's necessary. he exists in constant pain but still manages to care about saving the world. he makes sure to put on safety equipment when driving a forklift to save his team in a time crunch. he's convinced he's nothing more than a blip in time and won't matter at all in the long run for jack but he loves him anyway and stays with him because it matters to HIM. looking at the show from outside you'd think he was the soft sweet coffee boy but no he is combatative by nature. he lives to contradict and he is more of a fighter than even jack harkness. thank you for coming to my ted talk.

Ianto Jones and Danny Pink

Loving to draw parallels between TW and DW characters, I am amused it took me so long to draw one between Ianto Jones and Danny Pink. I might not know all about Danny, since I haven’t ever listened to DW audios and am not that deep in the fandom as in the TW one, but from what we see in the tv-episodes (and it’s a shame we don’t get enough with Danny) I think he and Ianto are alike in many ways.

For both Ianto and Danny, saving their loved ones is a priority over saving the world. They treat love with an almost soldier-like mentality - protection and loyalty first. Both Ianto and Danny died twice. Both have died the second time protecting their partners and one could say that saving the world was a nice bonus to that. Danny: “I didn’t die saving the world, Doctor. I died saving Clara. The rest of you just got lucky.” Ianto does not explicitly say it, but his actions in the House of the Dead all but scream it.

For both Ianto and Danny, the one thing that could have swayed their focus from ensuring the happiness of their loved ones was saving the lives of innocent children

Ianto and Danny are some of the few who are not really impressed with the Doctor but tolerate him for their partners’ sakes (honestly, if they ever met, they would absolutely bond over this particular one).

Last but not least - their fondness for pink shirts

P. S. Their lovers are *kinda* immortal