Title: What Never Should Be: New Beginnings
Epilogue
Author: blucougar57
Summary: Jack and Ianto are confronted with a whole new range of challenges as they try to run the newly restored Torchwood in a way that the Doctor would be proud of.
Rating: T/borderline M
Warnings: References to past torture and abuse, ongoing symptoms of PTSD.

A/N: This is the end of this story, but only the beginning of Jack and Ianto's Torchwood in this AU/AR. Next to come: Owen's recruitment...


( EPILOGUE )

Title: What Never Should Be: New Beginnings
Chapter 4: Confrontation
Author: blucougar57
Summary: Jack and Ianto are confronted with a whole new range of challenges as they try to run the newly restored Torchwood in a way that the Doctor would be proud of.
Rating: T/borderline M
Warnings: References to past torture and abuse, ongoing symptoms of PTSD.

A/N: I went to the AAMI Classic tennis tournament at Kooyong on Thursday, and despite my best efforts, I managed to fry myself. So I sit here at my laptop, looking like a lobster, and trying desperately to distract myself in any way I can.


( Chapter 4: CONFRONTATION )

Epilogue

Title: What Never Should Be: New Beginnings
Chapter 3: Fruit Salad, with a Dash of Nanogenes
Author: blucougar57
Summary: Jack and Ianto are confronted with a whole new range of challenges as they try to run the newly restored Torchwood in a way that the Doctor would be proud of.
Rating: T/borderline M
Warnings: References to past torture and abuse, ongoing symptoms of PTSD.


( Chapter 3: FRUIT SALAD, WITH A DASH OF NANOGENES )

Title: What Never Should Be: New Beginnings
Chapter 2: Toshiko Sato
Author: blucougar57
Summary: Jack and Ianto are confronted with a whole new range of challenges as they try to run the newly restored Torchwood in a way that the Doctor would be proud of.
Rating: T/borderline M
Warnings: References to past torture and abuse, ongoing symptoms of PTSD.


( Chapter 2: TOSHIKO SATO )

To everyone out there I hope you have all had a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year. I know I dropped off the grid pretty much completely for the last couple of months, but I hope to be more communicative in this new year. The last two months in particular have not been great at home, but I hope and pray that it will get better.

I've been getting some writing done, and have still be following the wonderful variety of fics available, but time constraints have kept me from being able to post anything lately. I still feel a little subdued, but it's in my blood to write, and so I have continued writing (by hand, mind you) and typing it up when I could. I'll be following this up with a very, very belated and unfortunately short update to "Ashes & Dust".

I do want to thank everyone out there who has continued to write, and post their work to LJ sites like jackxianto and Epic Proportions, Teaspoon and an Open Mind, and Fanfiction.net. Your work has collectively given me something to look forward to, and I promise to do better and express that gratitude by way of reviews and comments in the future.

Time to get back on board this train.....

* * *

Title: What Never Should Be: New Beginnings
Chapter 1: A Weevil Called Brad
Author: blucougar57
Summary: Jack and Ianto are confronted with a whole new range of challenges as they try to run the newly restored Torchwood in a way that the Doctor would be proud of.
Rating: T/borderline M
Warnings: References to past torture and abuse, ongoing symptoms of PTSD.


A/N: This is the start of what I anticipate will be a series of stories to follow on from What Never Should Be. Most of them will only be a fraction the length of the original story - perhaps 15,000 to 20,000 words long on average. There will be some compliance to the show's canon, but please remember that this is still AU. Therefore there is likely to be some variance in the characterisations and the way some characters behave/react.

( Chapter 1: A WEEVIL CALLED BRAD )

As of 5.30pm yesterday, I reached the magical 50,000 words. I haven't finished yet, mind you. And I intend to keep writing, to try and bolster my regions word count average. Given that one person in my region has written over 257,000 since the start of November (I kid you not, she really has done it), I have an obligation to keep writing and boost my word count as much as I can before the end of the month.
I have a green bar, though, and come November 25, when I can officially validate, I will then have a pretty purple bar!

So, congrats to everyone who has achieved 50,000, and good luck to those who are still working towards it. There is still time - don't give up!

It wasn't as productive a weekend as I had hoped, but I can't complain.
Saturday was my very first write-in, and in 5 hours I wrote 5,000 words.
Sunday, with a number of interruptions to deal with, I wrote 6,470 words.

So, total word count for the weekend is 6,470 words.
Total word count so far: 32,756 words

At the end of Day 5 (Australian time): 20,050 words.
That is all.

Novel Title: Nine Years In The Pit
(You wanna know what it's about? Email me - I'm not risking certain tech-savvy busybodies finding out through Google alerts.)
Day One word count: I didn't make specific note, but it was somewhere over 5,000
Day Two word count: 8383
Day Three word count (so far): 12,006

The motor is officially running, people, and I have the RSI in my wrist to prove it.

So, as soon as I found out that the Amazon Kindle was going to be available to Australians, I immediately pre-ordered it. It was shipped on the 19th, and I got it a few days later. Seriously, Friday turned into one of those up-down days. Down, as in feeling like crap and suffering nausea and vertigo whilst trying to focus on multiple tasks at work; up, as in watching the tracking details of my Kindle on Amazon.
And once the new and shiny tech arrived at work, it was even harder to concentrate on the job. I am happy to say that I did manage to get some outstanding tasks dealt with.

Soooo, I charged it up, ordered a few books (because what's the point of having it, and nothing to read but the How-To manual?) and took a really late lunch break to slink around the office and show off the new and shiny.

The sweetest thing is that I, who am usually way behind the 8-ball on these things, am probably one of the first Aussies to have on. And it is sweet! Seriously, I love my new and shiny.

On a final note (because it's late and I probably really ought to shouble be going to bed), the very first book I bought and downloaded for my new and shiny?
John Barrowman's Anything Goes - naturally...

Title: What Never Should Be
Chapter 43: The Pathway Forward
Author: blucougar57
Summary: What might have happened if Jack had refused to join Torchwood in 1899?
Rating: M
Warnings: Torture, Severe PTSD, AU, mild sexual descriptions
A/N: This is the penultimate chapter. There is just the epilogue to come, but whilst this particular story is nearly over, it's really only the beginning for Jack and Ianto in this AU. There is more to come.


( Chapter 43: THE PATHWAY FORWARD )

Title: What Never Should Be
Chapter 41: A Taste of Normal
Author: blucougar57
Summary: What might have happened if Jack had refused to join Torchwood in 1899?
Rating: T
Warnings: Torture, Severe PTSD, AU

( Chapter 41: A TASTE OF NORMAL )

Basically, what it says on the tin. I had the opportunity tonight to meet Jeff Lindsay, who is the author of the popular Dexter books. He is in Australia at the moment on a book tour, and I got to attend a reading from his latest book, a Q & A session and signing. Didn't get to ask any questions myself - the couple of questions I had were asked by someone else, but I didn't mind.

I enjoyed hearing him read from his book, and I got to exchange a few words with him when I got my book signed. I left happy - my first book signing with a well-known author, and I didn't get tongue-tied and end up embarrassed and feeling like an idiot!

He was pretty friendly, and with a good sense of humour - no small thing when by his own admission he was exhausted from the amount of travelling he'd done.

It was a great session, though, and well worth staying in Melbourne for. And after the last few weeks that I've had, it was nice to have something like this to look forward to.

Title: What Never Should Be
Chapter 39: Restoration
Author: blucougar57
Summary: What might have happened if Jack had refused to join Torchwood in 1899?
Rating: T/borderline M
Warnings: Torture, Severe PTSD, AU, uncomfortable adolescent-ish discussions of male sexual responses.


( Chapter 39: RESTORATION )