Meta: Dispelling the Myths - Part Three (Both)
Dispelling the Myths
Okay then, as most of you well know I am a Torchwood fan. Any of you who really know me will know that I'm a multishipper no matter the fandom (except Star Wars - Jaina/Kyp all the way in that).You'll also know that I love to analyse things, and have an interest in fandom. Anyway, I've decided to get together a list of things said about the two major Torchwood ships, Jack/Ianto (Janto) and Gwen/Jack (Gwack) and... well... frankly show my opinion of those things. Very frankly at that.
Anyway, here I go. Thank you to everyone on MSN, Twitter, and the Torchwood Forum UK (TWF) who contributed to the list. And just for the record, I am both a Jack/Ianto and Jack/Gwen shipper. I am also a rather large Ianto/Gwen shipper, but let's not get into that....
Part One (Jack/Ianto) / Part Two (Gwen/Jack) / Part Three (Both)
BOTH
1) Jack only sleeps with men, but loves women
I find this one rather interesting. The primary use of this one is by the Gwen/Jack fans to say that the relationship with Ianto is sex only, but with Gwen Jack can have a "proper" relationship. Mind you, I have also seen it used by some Jack/Ianto fans.
This comes from Jack's stories, which heavily feature many of the sexual exploits that he has with men. However, Jack has always been full of stories, and I'm sure most of you will agree with me that you'd be far more interested in hearing about someone’s sexual exploits than their tragic love story.
We don't know much about Jack, and we don't know how he works, but he does love the Doctor, he does love Ianto, and he loves them just as much as he did the women in his life, from Rose to Gwen. Jack is capable of monogamy (see his wedding picture), can settle down, and does appear to be having a proper relationship with Ianto. So no, this one is not based on fact, as the little information we have proves otherwise.
2&3) - The ship is "one true love"/They're soul mates
I covered much of this in the Gwen/Jack section, but it really applies to both ships here. Same as the soul mate thing.
It's basic - Jack is 2000+ -years-old, and will live forever. He will have many "one true loves", and many "soul mates", and thus he will have none at all. Gwen and Ianto are both special in their own way, but they are just brief moments on Jack's time line, and there will be others. So no, the ship you follow is not "one true love" or "soul mates" if it features Jack in it.
4) Fairy tale "happily ever after"
This one ties in very nicely to the one above as it is the exact same thing that prevents "happily ever after" from happening. Jack will never have his "happily ever after". Heck, there is no such thing as "happily ever after" anyway! Life is not a fairy tale. It is full of death, problems, challenges and angst. Things go wrong, stuff happens, you aren't happy all the time or you wouldn't be human.
No matter who Jack ends up with, they will die. No doubt young, too. Remember, Torchwood operatives die in the 30s - Gwen is already there at 31, and Ianto is 25. They're bound to die sooner or later if they don't quit, and if they do quit they'll be retconned and won't remember Jack anyway.
So no, there is no fairy tale, and there is no "happily ever after".
5) Jack loves Gwen more
I've touched on this in both already, but I will go over it again. Basically, Jack loves Ianto and Gwen differently, just as Gwen loves Jack and Rhys differently, and Ianto loves Jack and Lisa differently. That doesn't mean they love one or the other more, but equally in different ways.
So no, Jack does not love Gwen more, but that does not mean he loves her less either. We just don't know because Jack is not one to express himself. What we do know is that he pushes Gwen back to Rhys to protect her, and is dating Ianto and is in a proper relationship with him.
6) Ianto is Jack's second choice after Gwen
This one ties into the one above, but what I'm going to do is focus on the basis of this little piece of.... fanon. I've mostly seen it used by the Gwen/Jack fans, but it has been used by others on occasion and it comes from the belief that Jack only asked Ianto on a date after Gwen rejected him in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang".
Now, firstly, Jack actually said "I came back for you" to Ianto first, which is our first indication that something was going to happen and Jack's intentions. It was after this that Jack and Gwen had their scene and Gwen was rather rude to him. With Gwen, Jack was saying he missed her and was confident, whereas with Ianto he had already said he missed him and asked him out nervously.
Ianto was not a second choice - Jack seemed to have already made his choice in the "I came back for you" line. So, in reality, Ianto was Jack's first choice between Ianto and Gwen.
7) Jack loves one person only, and no one else
I've been over this one several time already in this meta, so I won't go into much detail. Jack loves many people, not just one, no matter who the characters are or who you ship. It's Jack, a 2000+ - year-old man from the 51st Century who loves many people. That's all there is too it.
8) Ianto is secretly playing matchmaker for Jack/Gwen
If I could have a dollar for every time I've seen this one. People, why would Ianto try to set up the man he loves with the woman that is married to another man. Seriously, if Jack and Gwen got together behind Ianto's back, he'd probably lock them out of the Hub and change the pass codes. Either that or quit. He would not set them up.
9) Janto is just a passing phase until Jack realises he loves Gwen
This one has only just recently sprang up. This is another case of bastard!Jack here, and the problem with it is that it implies that no matter who Jack is with or who he loves, he will always move onto the next person. So if he suddenly left Ianto for Gwen, then the chances are he'll leave Gwen for the next person.
Jack/Ianto is a slowly building relationship, and Jack has already realised that he loves Gwen. There is no passing phase, and Jack respects both Ianto and Gwen more than that.
10) Jack discovering love for the first time
*headdesk* Okay, if you think this, I suggest that you actually sit down and watch the show. Jack has loved many, many times, and no matter who he is with in your ship, they are definitely not his first love.
11) Gwen and Ianto love pet names from Jack
Nope, not at all. If you watch "Day One", Gwen clearly tells Owen (and the team) that she doesn't like pet names and to call her Gwen. If Jack called her 'kitten', she'd probably slap him or at least not talk to him for a while. In "Trace Memory" on pg 14 Jack tries to call Ianto pet names, and Ianto lists off the one's he will not accept. And never have we seen Ianto called "Yan", and he'd hate it if anyone ever attempted it.
Not to mention it seems to be Jack that does it. If you watch the show, Jack has a tendency to call people by their proper names - he even calls Tosh "Toshiko" a lot. Jack doesn't seem to do pet names at all. So no, not only would Gwen and Ianto hate pet names, but Jack wouldn't use them anyway.
Side note (sorry, I promised not too), but Gwen and Ianto have called each other "darling" and Gwen has called Ianto "sweetheart". And this leads into...
12) Gwen and Ianto hate each other
Now, this one really does not add up. As I pointed out above, they have called each other pet names and enjoyed it. Heck, these two have flirted with each other! They team up against Jack to make him jealous, and they help each other go behind Jack's back. They're good friends, not enemies, and there is nothing in their relationship to say that they hate each other. In fact, it is the opposite - these two are rather fond of each other. *resist urge to launch into Gwen/Ianto (Darling!) rant*
13) Jack handles people’s emotions well
There's a reason I included this one. You might notice that when Ianto or Gwen, or any of the team, are extremely emotional, Jack seems to be detached or withdrawn. The reason for this is because Jack honestly does not know how to react in the situation. Now, I could go into a lot of detail, but instead I'm going to send you the way of cirrocumulus (http://cirrocumulus.livejournal.com/121142.html#cutid1). Enjoy
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Well, that's all for now. I'm sure by the end of Season Three there'll be another pile of little myths and extremes to meta about, and there are no doubt some I missed. I hope you enjoyed the meta and it's either fuelled your belief in your ship, or at the very least made you think.
If I've left any out, please let me know for future meta. Also, please avoid discussing anything Season Three related until after the season has aired.
And just for a little extra fun, fic clichés: http://ingenius-inc.livejournal.com/137062.html
Part One (Jack/Ianto) / Part Two (Gwen/Jack) / Part Three (Both)