I Had No Idea I Had Been Traveling, by rm and kalichan (NC-17)

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

Fandom: TORCHWOOD
Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Jack/Ianto/OFC, Jack/Rose, Jack/Nine, Ianto/Lisa, Ianto/OFCs
Length: Gargantuan (currently 10 installments/26 LJ entries)
Warnings: angst, BDSM, breathplay, d/s, dp, genderfuck, het, hurt/comfort, recreational intoxication, slash, snuff, threesome, voyeurism
Authors on LJ: rm, kalichan
Author Websites: unknown
Why this must be read:

This is how it starts:

"You called, sir?" Ianto said, walking into Jack's office. "Or rather, you bellowed? We do have comlinks for....oh. You've...ah...lost your clothes, I see. Well, foreplay not quite dead, just on the critical list."

You know that old Chinese aphorism, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”? When Ianto crosses the threshold of Jack’s office, he and Jack embark on a journey that stretches through season two; makes an exploratory foray into season three; digresses into Jack’s time on the TARDIS, Ianto’s gap year, and the distant future; and encompasses the full spectrum of human feeling, the nature of memory, life, death, and evolution (both physical and spiritual). Above all, this is a story about love in its various manifestations; not just the love between Jack and Ianto, but between all the members of Torchwood Three, and for their friends and comrades, and those they are sworn to protect ... and, well, ultimately for life in all its forms, even when it hurts, even when it ends.

If I had to sum up this story in one word, it would be epic. Not just in terms of its length, but in the amount of thought that the authors have put into every aspect. It’s like one of those gigantic altarpieces in which the smallest details have been painted with a brush made from a single mouse hair. You could go blind reading this thing. (I’m not just talking about the length here — there is a lot of grade A porn throughout.)

Lest you find the sheer scale daunting, I hasten to add that each installment can be read as a self-contained story ... but I have trouble believing that anybody could stop at just one.

I Had No Idea I Had Been Traveling (leads to tagged entries in kali’s journal)

Note: I am bending the no-WIP rule a bit, since as of the time of this rec the authors were planning one more installment in the main arc. Assuming it is tagged like the rest of the series, it will be accessible through the above link.

Comments

[rm.livejournal.com]

Oh goodness. I must also thank you here, because this is so, so, so gratifying to hear. There's a lot of detail in this thing and we've been very intentional with some very tiny things, and it is so wonderful for it to be seen.

The last installment should be up very soon. We're currently in edits.

Thank you again.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

This is a story that definitely rewards re-reading. I’m sure there are details that I still haven’t spotted yet.

I’m both anticipating and dreading the last chapter; I want to know how you guys are planning to end it, but at the same time I don’t want it to stop.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

Here, have a chapter index, http://kalichan.livejournal.com/169750.html (http://kalichan.livejournal.com/169750.html), since the link in the rec no longer works.