Fic rec: Signals That Sound in the Dark by dsudis (Vorkosigan/Torchwood, M)

Title: Signals That Sound in the Dark
Author: dsudis
Fandoms/Continuity: Vorkosigan (pre-Shards of Honor), Torchwood (post "Children of Earth")
Pairing & Rating: Aral/Jack, Mature/Explicit (could it really be otherwise?)
Summary/Teaser: It was the coat that had caught Aral's eye--an obviously military cut, though without obvious insignia.
Why you should read this: These worlds combine surprisingly well, despite the explicit lack of aliens in the Vorkosiverse, and these two characters ... It fits, it works, especially for Jack at this specific point in his timeline to meet Aral at this specific point. For a moment, I almost wanted it to be a bit later on Aral's timeline, but no, that really wouldn't work at all. This is what works, and the more I re-read it, the more I see the ways in which it does. It's much more an Aral story than a Jack story, so while you can "get it" knowing little or nothing about Jack, it'll make very little sense without understanding Aral, though you'd only need to read Shards of Honor, I think, for those of you working your way through the series.

Mixed feelings

It was sort of amusing to watch my flist explode just now with the news that Torchwood Series 4 is a go, if only because of the drastically opposite reactions.

Serious mixed feelings here. No surprise for the woman who can never quite seem to be just one thing, right?

I want more and will almost certainly watch it. Several of the things mentioned in the release make me cringe and wonder if they're actually going to just break it more. At least it's not Fox? And thank all Gods it's not going to be a "reboot." I am curious to see where the hell they're going to go with it, even if part of me doesn't want to know.

Why wouldn't I want to know? Because it's so much easier to accept various fix-its as fact when canon is closed. To wit, in much of HP, people don't even bother explaining how Snape's still alive. Or Remus. Or Tonks. Or whomever. Pick your previously-read fix-it and go with it. Or maybe there's a hand-wave of an explanation, or just plain old "DH Disregarded." Of course, those are also much more easily fixed, though Snape and Tonks are far easier than Remus. I can't really buy "Sirius never died" fic though. This may be at least in part due to the fact that I didn't much like him to begin with, but I think it also has to do with the amount of canon that followed OotP. It's also why I wasn't nearly as upset about "Exit Wounds." I came in already well-and-truly spoiled before I saw "Everything Changes." Well, actually, before I even saw "Rose." I knew who was going to die, I just didn't know how, so I didn't let myself get attached in the first place.

And yet I know I'll watch. It may be the sort of "have to watch" like being glued to the proverbial train wreck, but there it is.

Why isn't there a mood icon for "ambivalent"?

(In much more clearly elated news, my autographed "hard copy" of Synesthesia and t-shirt with lyrics from "Making Sound" on it arrived today, weirdly just a little while before this news broke.)