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eldabeJack's background
By all rights, this post probably belongs in my meta community, and I might cross-post it there later. But this is rough and possibly, um, controversial? So I'm uncertain if I really want to deal with the unlikely but still possible fallout. (Torchwood is dead, but I have seen fandoms blow up over so much less. So much less.)
So, Awkwardly organized discussion of future religions below:
Ok, so we all know Jack. Omniosexual flirt without much of a barrier between libido, brain, and mouth.
But let's look at what we see from his home life, shall we? From all appearances, he has a mommy and a daddy and a baby brother. His parents seem to be in a pretty serious monogamous relationship based on Jack's mother's response to the attack. Without any further context they look...pretty much like a stereotypical 1960's family, actually.
And despite being comfortable with aliens by the time we meet him, there seem to be only humans on the Boeshane Peninsula when we see other locals.
Lots of people assume Boeshane was a colony world, and I like that assumption. We see one giant high-tech looking building, but otherwise it's all sand and beach and low-tech games of catch. They don't have adequate weaponry to protect themselves fromthe fire nation alien attackers.
I support the colony theory. It fits nicely with his accent (America has a fairly prominent history of frontier-exploring. See: Oregon Trail, Official Nickname of Alaska) and his description of Boeshane Peninsula as a "tiny little place." But the story Jack tells about himself is normally quite different. Jack's a cosmopolitan adventurer, an ex-Time Agent, love-'em-and-leave-'em Jack.
Different people have tried to reconcile his different sides, noticeablycopperbadge, who managed to create a society with nuanced and diverse views of monogamy and sex in his Lo 'verse.
I've had an idea percolating in my mind for months. Because the contrast between Jack's "space rural" background and his much more cosmopolitan attitude by the time we meet him make my mind jump to a different conclusion.
What if Jack's parents were, well, a religious minority of their time? Loosely compare to the Puritans that came to America to escape religious persecution; The world of the 51st century is loose and licentious and open, but Jack's family is part of a group that believes in humanity-first (or only), monogamy, and simple living, which is why they flee to an area that is on the very edges of society, an area that is badly protected. They are a "humans-only" religious group, and they flee the literal alien influences as well as the ominisexuality and modern technology (including defensive weaponry.)
And that's where Jack grows up. And then that's where Jack's life falls apart.
Somehow, after the attack, Jack joins an army. And then the Time Agency. (Although those two things may be connected, it's certainly unclear.) And thus begins his exposure to the rest of the universe. His home life is either destroyed by their precarious situation or he abandons it entirely, embracing the hedonism he can only find elsewhere.
And perhaps that's why he never mentions his mother, and seemingly feels no regret towards her in comparison to Gray. He loves her (or not), but he certainly rejected her way of life and her choices. He might even blame his parents for living in such an unprotected area and exposing his brother to that danger. If they had made different life choices, their family would never have had this crisis.
It's a crazy idea, with as little or as much canon support as any other idea. I doubt a fic will come of it, as it's not a plot or anything, just a possible background to sort of play with in my mind. But it provides a possible nuance, I think, to some of Jack's ideas and opinions -- they are not his by nurture, but his by choice.
Anyway, it's just an idea. Thoughts?
By all rights, this post probably belongs in my meta community, and I might cross-post it there later. But this is rough and possibly, um, controversial? So I'm uncertain if I really want to deal with the unlikely but still possible fallout. (Torchwood is dead, but I have seen fandoms blow up over so much less. So much less.)
So, Awkwardly organized discussion of future religions below:
Ok, so we all know Jack. Omniosexual flirt without much of a barrier between libido, brain, and mouth.
But let's look at what we see from his home life, shall we? From all appearances, he has a mommy and a daddy and a baby brother. His parents seem to be in a pretty serious monogamous relationship based on Jack's mother's response to the attack. Without any further context they look...pretty much like a stereotypical 1960's family, actually.
And despite being comfortable with aliens by the time we meet him, there seem to be only humans on the Boeshane Peninsula when we see other locals.
Lots of people assume Boeshane was a colony world, and I like that assumption. We see one giant high-tech looking building, but otherwise it's all sand and beach and low-tech games of catch. They don't have adequate weaponry to protect themselves from
I support the colony theory. It fits nicely with his accent (America has a fairly prominent history of frontier-exploring. See: Oregon Trail, Official Nickname of Alaska) and his description of Boeshane Peninsula as a "tiny little place." But the story Jack tells about himself is normally quite different. Jack's a cosmopolitan adventurer, an ex-Time Agent, love-'em-and-leave-'em Jack.
Different people have tried to reconcile his different sides, noticeably
copperbadge, who managed to create a society with nuanced and diverse views of monogamy and sex in his Lo 'verse. I've had an idea percolating in my mind for months. Because the contrast between Jack's "space rural" background and his much more cosmopolitan attitude by the time we meet him make my mind jump to a different conclusion.
What if Jack's parents were, well, a religious minority of their time? Loosely compare to the Puritans that came to America to escape religious persecution; The world of the 51st century is loose and licentious and open, but Jack's family is part of a group that believes in humanity-first (or only), monogamy, and simple living, which is why they flee to an area that is on the very edges of society, an area that is badly protected. They are a "humans-only" religious group, and they flee the literal alien influences as well as the ominisexuality and modern technology (including defensive weaponry.)
And that's where Jack grows up. And then that's where Jack's life falls apart.
Somehow, after the attack, Jack joins an army. And then the Time Agency. (Although those two things may be connected, it's certainly unclear.) And thus begins his exposure to the rest of the universe. His home life is either destroyed by their precarious situation or he abandons it entirely, embracing the hedonism he can only find elsewhere.
And perhaps that's why he never mentions his mother, and seemingly feels no regret towards her in comparison to Gray. He loves her (or not), but he certainly rejected her way of life and her choices. He might even blame his parents for living in such an unprotected area and exposing his brother to that danger. If they had made different life choices, their family would never have had this crisis.
It's a crazy idea, with as little or as much canon support as any other idea. I doubt a fic will come of it, as it's not a plot or anything, just a possible background to sort of play with in my mind. But it provides a possible nuance, I think, to some of Jack's ideas and opinions -- they are not his by nurture, but his by choice.
Anyway, it's just an idea. Thoughts?
