Torchwood Fic: We Happy Few (NC-17, ~48,000 words)

[hope]

Title: We Happy Few
Author: Hope (angstslashhope)
Fandom: Torchwood/Whoniverse
Wordcount: ~48,000
Genre: crack, teamfic, het, femslash, slash, humour.
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Various permutations, duplications and confabulations of Tosh, Owen, Ianto & Gwen.
Warnings: See: 'Pairings'. Also: group sex, slapstick, abuse of science, abuse of fashion, abuse of Whoniverse minutiae, liberal advantages taken of 'alien tech'. Spoilers for things that occur up to the end of season 2 of Torchwood and season 3 of Doctor Who.

Notes: This would never have happened without Karen's stellar enabling. Thanks also to friends who encouraged and enthused throughout the process, and big thanks for invaluable editing help to emeraldwoman, elouisa & sizeoftheocean.

Summary: Jack's a captive on the Valiant and the Master has initiated the extinction of humanity. Meanwhile, in Cardiff, the imminent threat has triggered a lockdown of the Hub, trapping the Torchwood Three team inside. For a year. (A "year-that-wasn't" story of exceeding silliness.)


( Click here to read the story )


» Download a printable PDF of this story (155 pages, 484KB)
» Download a portable eBook of this story (.epub, 124KB)


Also, bonus of awesomeness: Alternate ending by my killer beta: And Comes Safe Home by emeraldwoman.

Comments

[frollo.livejournal.com]

OMG. I so want to read this but I haven't seen all of Torchwood S2 yet!!!!

[hope]

*flails*

It's not *crucial* that you see S2 first, and it doesn't contain major spoilers - just some wibbly wobbly vague references to future-type things.

Surely you're not still unspoiled though, anyway?

[derryderrydown.livejournal.com]

Just in time for me to go away for the weekend! And you've already made an ebook of it! YAY!

[hope]

I hope the eBook works! I wasn't able to test it myself. Let me know if there are any problems with it :)

[greenapricot.livejournal.com]

Oh, have I ever been waiting for this. Now I know what I'm doing this weekend. whee!

[hope]

:D four months in the making omg!

[black-samvara.livejournal.com]

You complicated, interesting person you. I love the jetpack smelling faintly of burnt coffee and the sheer silliness of it all. Was also giving off strong vibes of exhausted tedium.

Why didn't Jack stockpile more lube?

[hope]

Maybe he did stockpile lube, just not in any place they've looked yet...

Besides, are you trying to QUESTION JACK'S INFINITE AUTHORITY AND WISDOM? Just shut up and follow my orders, minions!!1

:D

[msilverstar]

You posted it!!!! (goes to read*

[hope]

Meep! Hope you enjoy it :)

[semplice.livejournal.com]

HOORAY! Now I have something wonderful to read.

[hope]

Here's hoping there's not too much weeping in it for you!

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you! This is amazing - I really didn't intend to read it all at once, but I just couldn't stop. I really loved Owen(s) interactions with the rest of the team. His voice came over strongest for me, but I could easily see the others too, especially Gwen with the team-building thing. Looking forward to reading more of your work.

[hope]

Thank you so much! Owen really did end up being the hero I never really intended... But then again, it is narrated by Tosh... :D

Cheers!

[irradiatedsoup.livejournal.com]

You are a bitchface. I read this last night, late, and started crying when they saw the "mysterious" blood on the floor and then pretty much didn't stop from that point. (As such, I haven't read Karen's alternate ending yet, but I will. Its time will come.)

But yes, it's an awesome story, awesomely crafted, sad, hot, funny, a little gross. Owen and Tosh, my baaaaaabbbbbbzzzzzzz :(((( I am way too lolsensitive about them, still. And your grasp of their characters really made me feel that. Like, it felt like canon, so aswell as the crack, the little hints of stuff coming really worked. Tosh seeing the two Owens in the shower kind of shook me up a bit too. And yeah, I loved reading it.

Look, we both know I loved it from all those excerpts you sent me anyhow! But the fact that you managed to keep me reading from a screen in the late night, also speaks volumes about how very enjoyable and absorbing this was. Anyway, yes A+++, would read again three times, and might just do once I've printed it out. Or someone has printed it out for me. :DDDD <--- That is a genuine smile and not a smiley hint.

[karenhealey.livejournal.com]

HAH I HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL OF THE PRINTER, YOU WILL HAVE TO BE SMILEY AT MEEEEEE!

And I did not actually write the promised crack ending even though I promised: emeraldwoman stepped into the breach, though!

[mad_maudlin]

I don't think I quite have the words to express how utterly awesome and perfect this story is. The characterization is masterful, and you swing so effortlessly between humor and deep emotion. And the funny bits were so damn funny--Gwen's sock gown, the Owens, the JET PACK. Thank you so much for writing this.

[hope]

Thank you so much for the delightful feedback! I had tonnes of fun writing it, so it's great to hear you enjoyed reading it :)))

Thanks!!

Two very enthusiastic thumbs up

[zehara.livejournal.com]

I'm starting a petition so that you can take over the writing, because that was just the perfect TW...Owen being snarky and sexy, Tosh being adorable and sexy, Gwen being stupid and...sweaty and Ianto being naked. Clearly, you should be in charge over there.

Hot, ridiculous, inspired (cloned Owens. I want to make sweet love to your brain), and a cracking good read. I haven't been able to read *any* fic in the past few years that even keeps my attention for longer than a couple of minutes, and I read this all the way through. And that bastard is long. Just saying, well done :)

Re: Two very enthusiastic thumbs up

[hope]

Bwee! What awesome feedback. It's the longest thing I've ever written; I'm glad it managed to hold your attention for so long!!

Thank you so much :)

Oh

[zehara.livejournal.com]

...and "lube cube"? Seriously, Your Brain, we should hook up...

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

So, I haven't read the whole thing, 'cos ... well, Torchwood and me aren't friends. But what I have read is made of win, and as an archive mod, I hope you go along and post it to the Teaspoon (http://www.whofic.com) if you haven't already.

[hope]

Hee, thanks.

I may post to Teaspoon... I like to keep my fic all in the one place rather than posting it around, though; which these days means on my website (and later archived for permanence on the Archive of Our Own).

I'll have a think about it, though. Thanks for the suggestion anyway :)

[derryderrydown.livejournal.com]

Oh, DUDE. You know how I've been whingeing about Patrick O'Brian keeping me awake? YOU NOW JOIN THE WHINGE. That was awesome.

I now want a coffee-grinds-powered jetpack.

[hope]

:D if anyone I know can make a jetpack, it'd be you.
Seriously, YAY, YOU LIKED IT!!! tyvm.

[greenapple.insanejournal.com (from livejournal.com)]

I enjoyed that very much. :)

Favorite bits: Owen with a monkey tail, Ianto being ravished (and telling Gwen about it), the whole timefuck thing with the echoes and creeping around in the dark and stuff -- that shit was cool, and best of all (of course): unexpected Jack!

[hope]

YAY! Yeah, you pretty much have the same fave bits as me :D

So glad you liked this. Thanks for feedbacking :D

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Ianto’s astounded hair, the demented cape, Captain TV Dinner... this story is made of wonderful.

Thanks so much for this. It's just awesome, funny/sad and epic.

[hope]

:D Thanks for commenting! I'm glad you enjoyed reading it :)

[rexluscus.livejournal.com]

This is the awesomest, most amazing story I have read in...a really long time. Ianto made a jet-pack! Owen cloned himself! Gwen sewed everybody clothes out of tube socks! The Tosh POV was incredible. I laughed out loud so many times, and felt so many things, and...and...it's just a wonderful story. Wow.

[hope]

Thanks so much for the awesome feedback (and the rec!!).

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I had an absolute ball writing it :D

[cupidsbow.livejournal.com]

How much fun is that! I can totally see how this ate your head for so long. The characters just pop off the page, they're having so much fun.

[hope]

It was a rollicking good write :D

Yay! Thanks :)

[settiai]

Oh, this was absolutely brilliant.

[hope]

Thank you :)

[opheliarose.livejournal.com]

This was really, really wonderful, I enjoyed it so much. It made me sad at the end that all they'd gone through, all of the camaraderie they'd built up was lost, because it was such a beautiful thing. And like someone else said, the bit with the blood smears was just...I had to stop reading for a moment after that. Basically, well done :)

[hope]

Thanks so much for the lovely feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

[wenchpixie]

This is entirely daft, ridiculous, in character and awesome :).

[hope]

:D :D :D Thank you!!!

I am glad you enjoyed it :)

[alex51324.livejournal.com]

Here via the torchwood_house rec. Awesome, just awesome. I liked how the premise is sort-of iffy-cracky (I'm sure we've all seen "the team are locked in the Hub for-some-reason. What Hilarious Hijinks will Ensue?" badfic), but you make it a real story with character development and drama (as well as top-notch Hilarious Hijinks). And the Owens going all what's-his-name-from-Tale-of-Two-Cities and sacrificing one of themselves--just wow. I'm going to have to read this again.

[hope]

Thanks for the great feedback :)

It started with intentions of just being a wee cracky story, but just grew and grew and ended up with, as you say, story, character development and drama! I honestly don't know what happened *g*

Cheers!!

phew...

[(Anonymous)]

took me a few days, but i really, really enjoyed this. lots of good, sorry, make that brilliant, moments. owen popping up like a meerkat made me smile a lot.

thanks for posting.

amanda-jane

Re: phew...

[hope]

Thank you for reading! And for sticking with it through several days.

I'm glad you enjoyed it - I actually had to take out a few other meerkat comparisons, thought I was overdoing it :D

[greenapricot.livejournal.com]

This was absolutely delightful, every little bit of it.

[hope]

*beams* thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it :D

[nieded.livejournal.com]

Hello! I just read this and I wanted to tell you that it's amazing. You succeeded in it being cracky and incredibly creative, while at the same time being daunting and terrifying. In fact, my favorite parts were the most terrifying including Tosh's future blood in the autopsy bay and the scenes from Cyberwoman. And you did it in such a way that wasn't obvious, but subtle and surprising.

I love a good long story that ties up all its loose ends -- where no event or mention goes unwasted. This was brilliant. Absolutely.

[hope]

Thank you so much!

I'm glad that the more serious parts worked; I started this off as a crackfic but it really took on a life of its own by that point!

So, yay! :D

Also, that icon is made of win.

[flmun.livejournal.com]

This is beautiful. I *adore* the Tosh POV. I couldn't list all that was absolutely perfect. The whole thing struck a wonderful tone. Thank you for sharing.

PS.-- I read via archiveofourown.org.

[hope]

Thank you so much for commenting! I'm glad you enjoyed it :D