DOCTOR: You let one of them go, but that's nothing new. Every now and then, a little victim's spared because she smiled, because he's got freckles, because they begged. And that's how you live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction, you happen to be kind.
Story: A Modern Wonderland (about a decade after the start)
TW: none
WC: 135
"Ace, c'mere." Alice beckons Ace over, quickly fixing his tie. "There you go, Mr. Handsome."
"Oh, thanks." Ace seems distracted, tucking some of his hair behind his ear before quickly glancing at his watch.
"Nervous?"
"What? Oh, uh. A bit." Ace shrugs, not quite looking at Alice. "I've just. Never done something like this, and I don't want to ruin it for them."
"You won't, and I don't think it's even possible to ruin today for the lovebirds." She chuckles, pulling him closer for a quick hug. "They're just happy to get married and have all of us there."
"I suppose..."
++
When later Ace stands up to give his toast, and Alice spots the soft smiles on Wyatt and Idris' faces, she can't help but smile herself. What a difference a decade can make.
“Ace, c'mere.” Alice beckons Ace over, quickly fixing his tie. “There you go, Mr. Handsome.”
“Oh, thanks.” Ace seems distracted, tucking some of his hair behind his ear before quickly glancing at his watch.
“Nervous?”
“What? Oh, uh. A bit.” Ace shrugs, not quite looking at Alice. “I’ve just. Never done something like this, and I don’t want to ruin it for them.”
“You won’t, and I don’t think it’s even possible to ruin today for the lovebirds.” She chuckles, pulling him closer for a quick hug. “They’re just happy to get married and have all of us there.”
“I suppose…”
++
When later Ace stands up to give his toast, and Alice spots the soft smiles on Wyatt and Idris’ faces, she can’t help but smile herself. What a difference a decade can make.
nooooo i just considered what if jack was the one who carried his daughter. so like either 1) alices mother was transfem (maybe she even left torchwood bc she was coming out as a woman and leaving torchwood would allow her to get a new identity where nobody knew her) or 2) for whatever reason alice's mother couldnt have kids.
and like. jack having given birth to alice FUCKS ME UP because if he carried a baby to term that means he wanted to do it. maybe he loved alices mother enough to do it for her, or maybe... he just wanted a kid.
and it means he knew how it felt to have a kid that he loved like alice and steven. he carried alice for 9 months and gave birth to her and two years later alice's mother took her and had her put in deep cover to get her away from him. this tiny baby that he held as a newborn, who wrapped her wee little fingers around just the one of his big ones so tight when they gave her to him to hold after he'd spent however many hours in labor. of course, he doesn't age, so now she looks older than him, but he still sees that tiny tiny baby when he looks at her. by season 3, for her only 35 years had passed since that day, but for him it was over 1,900. nearly 2000 years but he could never forget the feeling of her little fingers holding on so tight.
and like, children of earth. day one, jack finds out gwen is pregnant... another thing to remind him of his daughter and her son. ianto says, "Where do you get a child, though? I can find you lasers and Weevils and hitchhikers. But kids?" maybe ianto doesn't even know that he can get pregnant. he visits alice. she says about steven's absent father, "But he er, he phones every now and then, and sends Steven postcards, remembers his birthday. There are worse fathers." she probably means him. he says, "I'd come round here every week, if you wanted me to. Every day."
then of course, day five. and at the end of it all that tiny baby whod held onto his finger so tight all those years ago takes one long look at him in that corridor and turns around. and he knew he could never face her again after that.
My favourite thing in the entire world is when show creators hire the same actors for their projects, like I absolutely love the fact that anytime I put something Mike Flanagan created chances are I’ll get to see Carla Gugino or Kate Siegel or Rahul Kohli; and when I see ‘created by Ryan Murphy” Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Connie Britton are just around the corner; my favourite era of movies was when Helena Bonham Carter would appear in almost every Tim Burton project. I love it, more people should do it actually 🤌