The ALPHA!IANTO PICSPAM, aka "I've got a very big cock."
It's finally time for me to illustrate some of my views on Ianto and his dominant/alpha traits, whatever you wish to call them. Or at least to prove, once and for all, that Ianto is FAR FROM the wussy, servile wimp that parts of Torchwood fandom still seem to love to label him as.
Ianto the Hard Man. I love how people have this image of him as some sort of woobie shrinking violet. Did they not catch this shiteating grin? Maybe they went to the loo for a sec. I put this one in first because it doesn't really fit in with the narrative of my logics and also because I find this one quite sexy. Onwards!
Back to the narrative of my logics, then. Day One. Now, as we all know, Ianto didn't really have much of a role in series one, apart from Cyberwoman. A lot of episodes, such as this one, he only had one or two lines. So here we are with the "With my eyes" speech. I love this little scene, look at everyone craning to watch him talk...
Even Jack, who had up until this point been kind of staring into space, turns to look at the teaboy talk. I put these two caps in to show how much Ianto commands the attention of those around him. Now that's not just because he doesn't say much, and therefore people pay attention when he DOES, it's also because he's got a few really quite overt leadership qualities. Watch this scene if you've got the chance and watch him turn to address everyone and catch their eye. Ianto's a man who knows how to make people listen to him when he wants them to. He just doesn't want them to very often.
I'm going to go for a brief aside and focus on the interaction between Ianto and Owen specifically, over the two series.
Series one Owen can't seem to help having a dig at people every time he opens his mouth. Here he's just remarked that if you give Ianto a stopwatch, he's happy. It's not quite clear what he means by that, but knowing what Owen does say to Ianto on other occasions, we can reasonably assume that he's implying Ianto has no life. Far from shrinking away from Owen, though, Ianto meets his eyes (again. Ianto actually does this a lot, he's not the behind your back grumbly type) and retorts that it's the button on the top. Again, not a hugely clear comeback, but it's that fact that he doesn't physically react in any way to the put-down that's interesting. Ianto isn't actually that easily intimidated, not even by Owen.
(Would this be a good time to mention that I believe the "It's the button on the top" line to be Ianto's veiled implication that Owen couldn't find a woman's clitoris if you drew him a map? Thought so, that's what the smirk's all about, you see. It's the button on the top, Owen, it's not rocket science.)
Ianto and Owen again, in CJH just as Ianto's about to shoot. Again, I can't really sum this one up with a cap, but watch the scene and watch how Ianto reacts to the "part time shag" line. He doesn't, not even a batted eyelid, nothing. Owen does not intimidate Ianto, not even when he hits him way below the belt.
"I wasn't aware we were in competition"
What's being said here is quite important, and I believe it's true. Ianto's never seen Owen as any sort of threat to him, whereas Owen's bitterness towards Ianto shows quite clearly that Owen DOES perceive Ianto as a threat, or at least as an equal with whom he is competing for some sort of status as second largest penis in the organisation. In fact, let's face it, if Owen really was such an alpha male, he wouldn't be in any doubt as to the size of his metaphorical cock, nor would he constantly feel the need to refer to Ianto as "teaboy".
(Funnily enough, this scene also shows exactly the physical response we would have expected to see in CJH when Owen references the shagging again. Ianto looks away and is momentarily flustered, but then Jack and Ianto's relationship has changed at this point in time and Owen is clearly not aware of this fact.)
Ianto and Owen, then, overall, Ianto is, as Owen quite clearly says, the winner in the dick-measuring contest that Ianto wasn't even aware he was participating in. The simple fact that the contest even took place in Owen's head says more than the outcome ever could.
So much for those two, let's look at Ianto and Jack, the other power player in Torchwood. If there was anyone ever in any doubt that Ianto is capable of being a more than a match for Jack in the power stakes should he so desire, Fragments should have quelled that quite nicely. Oh, the fayce. He's onto you, Harkness.
And the physicality! The boy doesn't tend to do physicality much, but he's quite willing to pull out all the stops if he feels the need. Like here.
And here. There's a very obvious desperation in this scene, at least in terms of what is being said, but for someone who is, like Ianto, very much at Jack's mercy, he sure doesn't physically show any weakness or put himself into any sort of submissive position, despite the fact that logistically Jack has all the power here.
And then with the "no". He's not backing down. Ianto's the powerless one, and still he can't help himself.
But then, that's because at the end of the day, Ianto always ends up on top. Mmmm... sexy.
UR FAYCE, MY COCK. Not the only time Jack lets Ianto get physically so close to him, in fact Jack often seems extremely physically comfortable and open when Ianto is close, and even more so when Ianto is looming over him. Plus, Ianto really does wave his cock at Jack a lot and Jack seems quite happy to let him.
Even on his knees on front of Jack, Ianto doesn't exactly strike a sexy subby pose. Look at the face. That's his "Fuck you" face. It's kind of hot.
I put this one in because it's just after Ianto propositions Jack with a stopwatch and that scene very much shows, again, that Ianto's not exactly shy, embarrassed or apologetic about what he does. His gaze never wavers from Jack's and overall Jack comes out of this exchange seemingly more flustered than Ianto is. I also put it in because just after this proposition (and my assumption is that this moment is when their private relationship resumes after Cyberwoman) is the only time in series one that I can recall Ianto calling Jack "Jack", moments before, and moments later, he calls him "Sir".
Onto series two. Yes, Ianto's flustered in this scene, he's very obviously surprised that Jack's asking him out on a date. But he does give him this pose as it happens. Hit me with your best shot, Harkness. And, oh, my penis is here. Don't underestimate my cock, Jack.
The date thing is eventually smoothed out somewhat and Ianto quite quickly regains his composure and gives Jack a direct order to go to the roof. If you can find me any evidence anywhere of Jack Harkness quite literally scrambling to follow anyone else's orders, you're a better person than I am.
Terrifying. Grrr.
I thought this scene was really sexy when I first saw it and I didn't quite know why. Watch the end, after the grrr, in slow motion. Watch as Ianto catches Jack's eye and the two of them stare each other down (the camera angle changes slightly at the end, but Ianto doesn't, in fact, move a muscle.) Aww... look who slopes off in the end. Ianto's cock wins again.
Kissytiem. Ianto's physically higher up. Again. Jack seems really at ease with Ianto higher up, and he opens up emotionally. Funny.
Oh, the hilarity! "Do I show off?" "Just a bit." As has been remarked by a few other people elsewhere, Jack actually defers to Ianto here, RIGHT IN FRONT OF RHYS, with not a hint of embarrassment. Ianto tells Jack that, yes, he did deserve that, and Jack lets the matter drop. I like it when Jack shows us exactly who's boss (hint: it's not him.)
No reason for this one, really, just badass Ianto in Ianto's hottest scene EVER with the ninja skillz. He's such a macho man.
No real reason for this one, either, except to show the lovely, lovely staging. The physical similarities between the two of them, and the very fact that Ianto is IN this shot, showing us how much of a part of Jack's life Ianto has become. He's in the background, but he's not being pushed to the background, you know what I'm saying?
Ianto likes it when Jack's below him as much as Jack seems to like Ianto being above him. In fact, when they're in this position, both of their minds seem to wander off to sex quite quickly. Bless.
Adrift is the first real tangible evidence we get that Ianto is more than willing to stand up to Jack (notice he's playing pocket billiards again here as well, he does that quite a lot in series two) and if that doesn't lead to a satisfactory outcome...
...he'll play dirty. I love this face. It's the face of a guy who knows he can play dirty because he's confident that when he is, inevitably, found out, he'll STILL come out on top. It's the face of a man with a really big cock and the skills to know what to do with it. Metaphorically, of course.
And of course, the face of a man who knows that he'll always be the one with his hands free to answer the phone when his plaything's tied up. Literally.
So there you have it. My what a big penis he has. Who would have thought it, eh? There was a point to all this, but it has, as always, temporarily escaped me due to pretty. I'm sure someone will remember what it was eventually.
EDITED TO ADD: That cap from Captain Jack Harkness? God, I miss those earpieces. I think the costume department forgot about the great impact made by things that draw one's eye to bits of the human anatomy interested parties may well want to nibble. Bastards.
EDITED AGAIN TO ADD MINI PICSPAM BONUS:
I add/repeat these because they show Ianto at his most threatening. It's weird, because Ianto at his most threatening seems to always involve that face, and it's a face that can't quite make its mind up as to whether it's menacing or flirtatious. In fact, Ianto behaving as a kickass hard man always AT THE SAME TIME seems to involve Ianto being more... sexy than he normally is. The taser as penis substitute in Meat, this thing...
... with the grape in Combat. As soon as Ianto starts exhibiting aggressive behaviour, his actions also become rather more overtly sexual, which is why he strikes me as having, sexually, quite an aggressive and dominating personality.
Which, obviously, is nothing to do with why I love Ianto so much. Nope.
ETA AGAIN (June 2008): If you're only just reading this, could you tell me where you came from? I'm being linked to from all over the place and I'm interested.
Ianto the Hard Man. I love how people have this image of him as some sort of woobie shrinking violet. Did they not catch this shiteating grin? Maybe they went to the loo for a sec. I put this one in first because it doesn't really fit in with the narrative of my logics and also because I find this one quite sexy. Onwards!
Back to the narrative of my logics, then. Day One. Now, as we all know, Ianto didn't really have much of a role in series one, apart from Cyberwoman. A lot of episodes, such as this one, he only had one or two lines. So here we are with the "With my eyes" speech. I love this little scene, look at everyone craning to watch him talk...
Even Jack, who had up until this point been kind of staring into space, turns to look at the teaboy talk. I put these two caps in to show how much Ianto commands the attention of those around him. Now that's not just because he doesn't say much, and therefore people pay attention when he DOES, it's also because he's got a few really quite overt leadership qualities. Watch this scene if you've got the chance and watch him turn to address everyone and catch their eye. Ianto's a man who knows how to make people listen to him when he wants them to. He just doesn't want them to very often.
I'm going to go for a brief aside and focus on the interaction between Ianto and Owen specifically, over the two series.
Series one Owen can't seem to help having a dig at people every time he opens his mouth. Here he's just remarked that if you give Ianto a stopwatch, he's happy. It's not quite clear what he means by that, but knowing what Owen does say to Ianto on other occasions, we can reasonably assume that he's implying Ianto has no life. Far from shrinking away from Owen, though, Ianto meets his eyes (again. Ianto actually does this a lot, he's not the behind your back grumbly type) and retorts that it's the button on the top. Again, not a hugely clear comeback, but it's that fact that he doesn't physically react in any way to the put-down that's interesting. Ianto isn't actually that easily intimidated, not even by Owen.
(Would this be a good time to mention that I believe the "It's the button on the top" line to be Ianto's veiled implication that Owen couldn't find a woman's clitoris if you drew him a map? Thought so, that's what the smirk's all about, you see. It's the button on the top, Owen, it's not rocket science.)
Ianto and Owen again, in CJH just as Ianto's about to shoot. Again, I can't really sum this one up with a cap, but watch the scene and watch how Ianto reacts to the "part time shag" line. He doesn't, not even a batted eyelid, nothing. Owen does not intimidate Ianto, not even when he hits him way below the belt.
"I wasn't aware we were in competition"
What's being said here is quite important, and I believe it's true. Ianto's never seen Owen as any sort of threat to him, whereas Owen's bitterness towards Ianto shows quite clearly that Owen DOES perceive Ianto as a threat, or at least as an equal with whom he is competing for some sort of status as second largest penis in the organisation. In fact, let's face it, if Owen really was such an alpha male, he wouldn't be in any doubt as to the size of his metaphorical cock, nor would he constantly feel the need to refer to Ianto as "teaboy".
(Funnily enough, this scene also shows exactly the physical response we would have expected to see in CJH when Owen references the shagging again. Ianto looks away and is momentarily flustered, but then Jack and Ianto's relationship has changed at this point in time and Owen is clearly not aware of this fact.)
Ianto and Owen, then, overall, Ianto is, as Owen quite clearly says, the winner in the dick-measuring contest that Ianto wasn't even aware he was participating in. The simple fact that the contest even took place in Owen's head says more than the outcome ever could.
So much for those two, let's look at Ianto and Jack, the other power player in Torchwood. If there was anyone ever in any doubt that Ianto is capable of being a more than a match for Jack in the power stakes should he so desire, Fragments should have quelled that quite nicely. Oh, the fayce. He's onto you, Harkness.
And the physicality! The boy doesn't tend to do physicality much, but he's quite willing to pull out all the stops if he feels the need. Like here.
And here. There's a very obvious desperation in this scene, at least in terms of what is being said, but for someone who is, like Ianto, very much at Jack's mercy, he sure doesn't physically show any weakness or put himself into any sort of submissive position, despite the fact that logistically Jack has all the power here.
And then with the "no". He's not backing down. Ianto's the powerless one, and still he can't help himself.
But then, that's because at the end of the day, Ianto always ends up on top. Mmmm... sexy.
UR FAYCE, MY COCK. Not the only time Jack lets Ianto get physically so close to him, in fact Jack often seems extremely physically comfortable and open when Ianto is close, and even more so when Ianto is looming over him. Plus, Ianto really does wave his cock at Jack a lot and Jack seems quite happy to let him.
Even on his knees on front of Jack, Ianto doesn't exactly strike a sexy subby pose. Look at the face. That's his "Fuck you" face. It's kind of hot.
I put this one in because it's just after Ianto propositions Jack with a stopwatch and that scene very much shows, again, that Ianto's not exactly shy, embarrassed or apologetic about what he does. His gaze never wavers from Jack's and overall Jack comes out of this exchange seemingly more flustered than Ianto is. I also put it in because just after this proposition (and my assumption is that this moment is when their private relationship resumes after Cyberwoman) is the only time in series one that I can recall Ianto calling Jack "Jack", moments before, and moments later, he calls him "Sir".
Onto series two. Yes, Ianto's flustered in this scene, he's very obviously surprised that Jack's asking him out on a date. But he does give him this pose as it happens. Hit me with your best shot, Harkness. And, oh, my penis is here. Don't underestimate my cock, Jack.
The date thing is eventually smoothed out somewhat and Ianto quite quickly regains his composure and gives Jack a direct order to go to the roof. If you can find me any evidence anywhere of Jack Harkness quite literally scrambling to follow anyone else's orders, you're a better person than I am.
Terrifying. Grrr.
I thought this scene was really sexy when I first saw it and I didn't quite know why. Watch the end, after the grrr, in slow motion. Watch as Ianto catches Jack's eye and the two of them stare each other down (the camera angle changes slightly at the end, but Ianto doesn't, in fact, move a muscle.) Aww... look who slopes off in the end. Ianto's cock wins again.
Kissytiem. Ianto's physically higher up. Again. Jack seems really at ease with Ianto higher up, and he opens up emotionally. Funny.
Oh, the hilarity! "Do I show off?" "Just a bit." As has been remarked by a few other people elsewhere, Jack actually defers to Ianto here, RIGHT IN FRONT OF RHYS, with not a hint of embarrassment. Ianto tells Jack that, yes, he did deserve that, and Jack lets the matter drop. I like it when Jack shows us exactly who's boss (hint: it's not him.)
No reason for this one, really, just badass Ianto in Ianto's hottest scene EVER with the ninja skillz. He's such a macho man.
No real reason for this one, either, except to show the lovely, lovely staging. The physical similarities between the two of them, and the very fact that Ianto is IN this shot, showing us how much of a part of Jack's life Ianto has become. He's in the background, but he's not being pushed to the background, you know what I'm saying?
Ianto likes it when Jack's below him as much as Jack seems to like Ianto being above him. In fact, when they're in this position, both of their minds seem to wander off to sex quite quickly. Bless.
Adrift is the first real tangible evidence we get that Ianto is more than willing to stand up to Jack (notice he's playing pocket billiards again here as well, he does that quite a lot in series two) and if that doesn't lead to a satisfactory outcome...
...he'll play dirty. I love this face. It's the face of a guy who knows he can play dirty because he's confident that when he is, inevitably, found out, he'll STILL come out on top. It's the face of a man with a really big cock and the skills to know what to do with it. Metaphorically, of course.
And of course, the face of a man who knows that he'll always be the one with his hands free to answer the phone when his plaything's tied up. Literally.
So there you have it. My what a big penis he has. Who would have thought it, eh? There was a point to all this, but it has, as always, temporarily escaped me due to pretty. I'm sure someone will remember what it was eventually.
EDITED TO ADD: That cap from Captain Jack Harkness? God, I miss those earpieces. I think the costume department forgot about the great impact made by things that draw one's eye to bits of the human anatomy interested parties may well want to nibble. Bastards.
EDITED AGAIN TO ADD MINI PICSPAM BONUS:
I add/repeat these because they show Ianto at his most threatening. It's weird, because Ianto at his most threatening seems to always involve that face, and it's a face that can't quite make its mind up as to whether it's menacing or flirtatious. In fact, Ianto behaving as a kickass hard man always AT THE SAME TIME seems to involve Ianto being more... sexy than he normally is. The taser as penis substitute in Meat, this thing...
... with the grape in Combat. As soon as Ianto starts exhibiting aggressive behaviour, his actions also become rather more overtly sexual, which is why he strikes me as having, sexually, quite an aggressive and dominating personality.
Which, obviously, is nothing to do with why I love Ianto so much. Nope.
ETA AGAIN (June 2008): If you're only just reading this, could you tell me where you came from? I'm being linked to from all over the place and I'm interested.