Post by jack on Aug 4, 2010 19:38:59 GMT -5
Torchwood Files
~CAPTAIN jack HARKNESS!!
~CAPTAIN jack HARKNESS!!
"With a dashing hero like me on the case, how can we fail?"
The File Jacket
Name: Captain Jack Harkness
Nickname(s): very few that anyone could get away with so we won't even list them.
Age: Age is a difficult thing to nail down with Jack. He appears to be about 35 years of age but after his jump backwards in time, and living straight through, he's 175 years of age. And then there's the whole 2,000 years buried under Cardiff... Jack's trying not to think about that point. But let's not make Jack feel bad and we'll let him believe he's 35.
Sexuality: Yes, please.
Profession: Leader, Torchwood Three
Race: Human (immortal)
Canon?: Canon
PRETTY FACES
Regeneration Cycle: N/A
Eyes: Piercing blue
Hair: brown
Height: 6'0""
Weight: A gentleman never discloses his weight.
Any outstanding features?: Jack's chiselled jaw would be quite an outstanding feature.
Appearance: By his very appearance, Jack looks like he's stepped out of a 1940s film and never quite got a handle on the 21st century. He stands at roughly six foot, with rougishly handsome looks and a cleft in his chin that's been known to drive more than one species wild for days at a time. [Or it's Jack's ego. Take your pick.] He's said that to work his way through his back catalogue of lovers we'd be here until the sun exploded -- that, however, isn't his ego speaking. Jack has a reputation among most galaxies as being one hell of a heart breaker. He has piercing blue eyes that tend to say more about a situation than the rest of Jack's already animated face; not to mention are quite older than the rest of his face. He has, on more than one occasion, intimidated any number of persons or aliens with one narrowing of the eyes.
When out and about in Cardiff, he's rarely seen without his RAF bluegrey greatcoat [military issue from WWII]. No matter the temperature, he's wearing the coat. He tends to wear dark, pleated front trousers with braces [or on a rare occasion, a pinstripe waistcoat and pocket watch]. Jack's colours tend to stray toward the blue end of the spectrum, either the RAF wedgewood blue or a dark blue colour shits, accented by spitfire cufflinks. Perpetually clean shaven, Jack is rarely to be found with even the smallest bit of stubble marring his jaw -- never mind the fact that he's incapable of growing a beard. That whole fixed point in time and space bit certainly keeps the shaving budget down. He has no scars to speak of, every wound he's ever had has miraculously healed himself.
There is something about Jack that gives him an otherworldly look, but it could be the fact that his eyes are far too old for his face. There is much that he has seen and done, most of which he refuses to speak of. When questioned about his past, Jack is quick to change the subject with a smile [and in most cases, a kiss] and move on as if the question doesn't exist. It's possible much of what he's said is a lie; one can never be too sure with a con man. However, Jack lies only through omission -- when you're as old as he is, it's pointless to make up stories any longer.
Hello THeRE
Likes:
- Coffee.
- Sex
- Sex
- Ianto
- Rose
- Tall buildings. so much better for the brooding
- Danger. Preferably things that put him directly in the face of danger. Jack has nothing to lose any longer.
- Flirting
- Sex [wait... was that on here already?]
- The Doctor.
- "Dancing"
- Flirting
- A good puzzle
- Making bad puns
- Being enigmatic
- Naked hide-and-seek
- Brooding atop buildings
- Danger, taking risks... aka Torchwood
- Technology far too advanced for this point in earth's history
- Spending time on the shooting range.
- Manipulating time when he's allowed to.
Dislikes:
- the Rift
- the 456
- Paperwork.
- Being anything less than a leader
- Torchwood London
- Rejection. Any sort of rejection
- Coffee that isn't Ianto's
- Being told what to do
- Cybermen
Fears:
- Ianto's death
- Death of any of his team members
- In all honesty, there isn't much Jack fears. Only the deaths of those he cares for.
Weaknesses:
Being turned immortal was, perhaps, not the best thing in the world to happen to Jack. He's been accused of turning into a monster or being inhuman, content to shut himself in the Hub with its artefacts as opposed to knowing what it is to be human. Perhaps that's why he surrounds himself withthe people that he does -- they remind him and keep him human. Jack's capacity to love can be seen as both a strength and a weakness. As a weakness, it makes him vulnerable (though, how vulnerable can the immortal man be?) and he will sacrifice himself for the safety of his team. He's loyal to a fault and, for him, the team comes first. However, he's also quite bull-headed and often runs off on his own, leaving the team behind. In the end, Torchwood is -his- and though Jack couldn't survive without his team, he is still the one in charge -- for better or forworse.
Strengths:
He's an excellent shot but he's also had a few hundred years to perfect his aim, figuring out the impossible puzzles and keeping the universe safe on more than one occasion. And, when the Doctor doesn't disable his wrist strap, Jack has the ability to manipulate time. Strangely, though, the Doctor doesn't like allowing Jack that ability -- Jack's not sure if that's because their first meeting nearly resulted in one hell of a disaster. He likes to think that's not the case. As for special abilities, following the debacle on Satellite 5, Jack can no longer die. When Rose weilded the power of the Time Vortex, she gifted him with immortality and, though Jack has discussed it with the Doctor, there's nothing that can be done to reverse what has happened. He does, however, age but at a very slow pace -- it's unsure whether the 'Face of Boe' that the Doctor encountered is truly Jack and if it is -- he doesn't want to know.
Any secrets?: Jack tries to keep his immortality a secret. He usually can't, but he at least tries.
PERSONALITY:
General personality:
- The Leader: Jack Harkness is truly larger than life: a man who chooses to live by his own rules and damn anyone who attempts to stand in his way. He's lived too long, seen and done too much, to change any aspect of himself. In the end, though, Jack is a natural-born leader [though he never would have chosen that profession for himself]. Jack likes being the centre of attention, the one others look up to, and the one to lead others into battle. He has always led from the front and doesn't expect his team to do anything he wouldn't do. He does, however, expect them to know their limitations. It's no surprise that Jack likes the title of leader as his most preferred alias was that of a group captain in the Royal Air Force. Of course, when the Doctor met him he was wearing the rank of Wing Commander so while his rank may be self-imposed, he still takes the responsibility seriously. He may not be the best leader in the end, but he knows how to keep his team safe and make sure everyone gets out alive. It's when they don't that Jack mourns -- even if it's in silence.
- The Flirt: While most people know Jack as the consummate flirt, it's not the only aspect to his personality. Sex and flirting may be a big part of Jack's life, there is more to him than this. Does Jack flirt? Yes. Is it a fault? Most likely. Does Jack love to flirt, to make some man or woman smile and help him get what he wants? Of course he does. However, there's more to Jack than what he does in the bedroom, hot house or against any nearby flat surface. Jack loves everything about flirting and sex and will usually insert some sort of sexual innuendo at the inappropriate time and place. However, there's something about breaking the tension with said innuendo that helps him get what he wants; not to mention get past any security hurdles that stand in his way. Of course, Jack's tastes aren't always 'human' in nature either. Jack is, however, a 51st century man -- he's just a little more flexible when it comes to dancing.
- The Con-man: No matter how he has tried to suppress his old lives, Jack will forever remain a rogue and a conman. He has been known to lie, cheat, and steal on more than one occasion in order achieve the ends he needs. There's a reason Jack and Torchwood are despised for their methods and it's because of Jack's tendency to sweep in and push the PCs or the military aside without so much as a 'by your leave'. He'll make anyone believe what he needs tom to think in order to get what he wants. While the con man may live in his past [and Jack tries his damndest to keep his past at arm's length], it's only ever come back to bite him in the ass. He's accepting what he is more and more -- and letting his actions of the present speak louder than the past.
- The Loyalty: Jack is loyal -- perhaps to a fault. He has remembered anyone he ever loved, ever killed, and ever worked with over the years. His feelings of loyalty are deep seeded and he would die for any member of his team, well, figuratively speaking. Jack mentions in the episode 'Adam' [in regards to the man who tried to insert himself into Jack's team and his memories]: "All I know is that when I think of my team, I see you there, but I don't feel anything for you. No pride, no warmth." For Jack, his team will always come first... now. He had his moment of selfishness, to run off with the Doctor to see if he could be fixed. Now that he has the answer, he will always put his team before himself. The notion of putting himself in between his team and danger doesn't seem like much of a sacrifice when you can't die, but Jack would still die for his team no questions asked.
- The Lover: As Captain John once said to Gwen, 'It's just sex, sex, sex with you people'. Truer words were never spoken about Jack Harkness. He loves the act of sex and every other act that comes along with it. He's never been known to be completely faithful to one partner -- and it's hard to say if that's due to his 51st century upbringing or if it's simply Jack's personality. He's been lucky that he can either hide his other lovers or those he's with at the time would rather have him and put up with his infidelity. Jack has his reasons for bed hopping, but those reasons are his own. Namely -- it's the one chance he has to keep him from being completely tied down to one lover and finding himself broken when they die. In the end, Jack has an enormous capacity to love. As a weakness, it makes him vulnerable and he will always sacrifice himself for the safety of his team. As a strength, his capacity to love is what has kept him going through his long life.
- The Man: Simply being Jack Harkness is a trait in and of itself because he is quite the unique individual. There will never be another man quite like him... and that's probably a good thing. The world couldn't take two Jack Harknesses running around. [Though, there's a question if he got blown up, would each piece regenerate -- but perhaps it's better to stay away from those thoughts.] Jack is his own man, he lives by his own mores and, more often than naught, he throws the rule book out the window whenever he's working. He gets the job done, no matter who gets hurt in the process. He is a firm believer that people make their own beds and once they're made, they have to lie in it. What matters is that the job gets done and Cardiff remains safe.
BACKGROUND:
Mother: Name Unknown in CanonDead, and Jack won't talk about it.
- Dead or Alive? Age and Cause of Death (if applicable):
FATHER: FranklinDead, and Jack won't talk about it.
- Dead or Alive? Age and Cause of Death (if applicable):
OTHER FAMILY: GrayThat answer is complicated.
- Dead or Alive? Age and Cause of Death (if applicable):
HISTORY: ( Just as we would be here until the sun exploded if we were to look at Jack's back-log of former lovers, so too would we be here if we attempted to look at Jack's entire history. However, we'll hit the high points and carry on from there. Besides, living as long as Jack has, it's hard to know what is really his past and what he's fabricated. He's not one to talk about his past, changing the subject away from himself at the first opportunity -- or, being Captain Harkness, he can flirt his way out of any situation.
His original name has been lost somewhere along the line and, frankly, Jack doesn't acknowledge his birth name. There are far too many bad memories that are connected to that name and Jack firmly believes that his present is what matters. He may have appropriated the name 'Captain Jack Harkness' the first time he lived through the 1940s, but it truly is the man he has become over the past hundred fifty years.
Jack was born on the Boeshane Peninsula in the 51st century, an otherwise normal and very mortal child. He grew up relatively happy, even though his people lived under the constant threat of invasion by a horrible alien race. Jack has described them as the worst creatures imaginable and in his mind, they're just as wretched as the Daleks. The invasion finally came and Jack was told by his father to run and to keep his brother Gray with him. Jack took off running and at some point let go of his brother's hand. He tried looking for his younger brother but to no avail. Running the entire way home, all that met Jack was death and destruction. He found his mother crouched over the body of his father and, with tears in her eyes, looked up at Jack and asked where Gray was.
She never said it, but Jack instantly knew that, given the choice between her two sons, she would rather have Gray than him.
His mother died only a few years later, leaving Jack utterly alone. He wasn't of age yet and couldn't 'live on his own', so he wound up being passed around between the few living relatives but no place really felt like home. Jack grew, turning into quite the good-looking teen, drawing the attention of the Time Agency. Sad that it wasn't his skills but it was his good looks that earned him the title of the 'face of Boe'. However, for the first time since Gray's death, Jack found a group of people that were taking an interest in him: the Time Agency. It didn't matter what the reason was, all that mattered was that someone wanted him. He reached age sixteen [lied, telling the agency he was really seventeen] and joined their ranks as soon as he could. The Agency needed people in their ranks and they didn't look into Jack's records. In the Time Agency, Jack found what he'd been looking for. He took quickly to the rules and regulations, showing skills and aptitude beyond what the Agency could even have hoped for. He moved quickly through the ranks and was given more of the 'top secret' projects.
Jack didn't care how dangerous the assignments was. He had nothing to lose.
He took on the jobs no one else wanted to do. He learned the value of torture to get what he wanted, and found that he [to his everlasting shame] enjoyed the roles the Agency forced him into. He was the go-to man for torture, for sex... for anything they asked. He was an Agency man through and through and Jack firmly believes that, had certain events not happened, he still would be a member of the Agency, perhaps even in the top ranked areas.
At the age of twenty-two, Jack found himself partnered with another young recruit who seemed to be perfectly matched with Jack both in abilities and other less than savoury qualities. [Jack maintains he could still drink anyone under the table and wake up the next morning without a hangover and could still get it up by the end of the night.] He and John Hart were coupled together and it soon turned that Jack was the only man in the Agency who could keep tabs on John. At some point, their partnership took on a different turn, however Jack doesn't remember if that came before or after the time loop. Spending five years in a time loop with the same man leaves only two different options: kill him or love him.
Killing would mean Jack was alone. Thus, he'll take lovers. [And, for the record, Jack was not the wife.]
Escaping the time loop at age twenty-eight, Jack began to realise there were several years of his memory that were missing. To this day, he has no knowledge of what he did, though he has tried to discover the truth. Jack turned his back, walking out of the Time Agency and never once looked back. There was a difference between staying with an organisation who used him as a tool and one that wipes his memory when they didn't like what he had done. Jack had no way of trusting if they would do it again or if it had happened several times before. It scared him to think it could have and they were layering memories on top of memories. Jack doesn't know what he did during those years and he wonders, in this case, not knowing is better.
Jack never gave notice that he was leaving the Agency, he went AWOL and never looked back. He knows the Time Agency is still looking for him, but he can't bring himself to care. Perhaps one day they'll find him, but he'll cross that bridge whenever it arises. Given his knowledge of the future and extensive training in 'Past' events, Jack was able to use his Vortex Manipulator and jump through time, using his knowledge to his advantage. He turned into a time travelling con artist, making a small fortune selling items he never had any intention of delivering. Jack lived by his own rules, caring for nothing outside of his own pleasure and wealth. He fucked whoever he wanted, drank however much he wanted, and made an obscenely large amount of money.
Around the age of thirty-five, Jack found himself hanging about in World War II. He'd visited the era several times (on his first visit he'd adopted the alias of Jack Harkness and it... stuck), each time without incident. Of course, the previous visits didn't include the presence of the Doctor or Rose Tyler either. To be perfectly honest, his con would have gone off without a hitch had he not seen the blonde hanging from the sky [and in a union jack shirt no less!] and had his latent hero complex decided not to kick in at that exact moment. Jack never could have imagined that meeting Rose and the Doctor would put his life into such a tailspin. The hero complex that Jack had thought he lost in the years since the Time Agency began to emerge in the years he spent with the Doctor.
Just when Jack thought his life couldn't get any stranger than travelling in a giant blue box with a big-eared man and a bleach-blonde girl, the three were kidnapped by a transmat beam. The Doctor and his companions found themselves on Satellite 5 and trapped within a series of deadly television games, all for the sick entertainment of those sitting on earth. Jack (though he was able to escape the two Droids with a cleverly concealed compact laser blaster) was able to find the Doctor, however the two men were too late to save Rose -- or so they thought. As the story unfolded, it came to pass that [through Jack's ingenuity and intelligence] that the games were nothing more than a front, hiding a larger and more sinister plot: the return of the Daleks.
Relying on both his military and Agency skills, Jack was the one who took charge of the poor humans left on board to let the Doctor and Rose work on the Delta Wave. He was determined to give the Doctor as much time as humanly possible, though in the end being the last man standing wasn't enough. His sacrifice was in vain. The Doctor, knowing their situation was hopeless, sent Rose back to Earth so she could live her life and worked on the machine by himself. While the Doctor finished the Delta Wave, he chose the road of coward: deciding not to annihilate the Daleks in favour of the human race.
No one, not even the Doctor, could have been prepared for what happened next. Knowing she was facing certain death, Rose returned in the TARDIS fuelled by the power of the Time Vortex. With the whole of time spinning inside her, she erased the Daleks. However, the power was too much for her and soon she didn't know what she was doing -- and, in the end, brought Jack back to life. Jack reawoke in the land of the living as the Doctor absorbed Rose's energy. The Doctor close to regeneration, left Satellite 5 in the TARDIS with Rose, and stranding Jack alone with nothing but Dalek dust. Hearing the sound of the TARDIS engine, Jack wasn't fast enough to reach the Blue Box in time and found himself utterly alone on Satellite 5.
Taking a massive leap of faith, Jack set his Vortex Manipulator for the last place he knew the Doctor to be so that, hopefully, he could rejoin him in Cardiff. Unfortunately for Jack, his brilliant plan failed. He arrived in London, somewhere in 1869 with a burnt out Vortex Manipulator and the clothes on his back. Forced now to live the life of the slow path (as the technology in his wrist strap was too far beyond what anyone had ever seen in this time), Jack was forced to live the life of an ordinary human. He has one word for this period in his life: sucktastic. Somehow, Jack managed to avoid trouble for the next 25 years and, after growing tired with England, decided to immigrate to America. Jack, being his typical and annoying self, managed to annoy a man at Ellis Island (how bad is it to say another bloke has a nice ass and he'd look good pinned against a wall?) and wound up in a gun battle. Jack's time ended after he was shot in the chest at point-blank range.
Or so he thought.
Until he woke up the next morning.
Well, maybe he missed?
But Jack remembered being shot. He remembered the feeling as a bullet lanced through his body, entering his front and exiting out his back. But... he woke up! Jack began to wonder if something wasn't right. Without thinking, Jack threw himself into the face of danger, wanting to know why he hadn't died from what should have been a fatal gunshot wound. It took thirty five exceedingly unique and creative deaths (the worst was the javelin to the spleen. Really not funny and don't try that at home kiddies) before Jack realised the horrifying truth: he was the man who couldn't die. No matter how he perished (and Jack DID try everything), within anywhere between a few minutes or a few hours he would reawaken in the same state he was before -- as if nothing had happened. Realising after all these deaths he couldn't remain in New York, Jack returned to England in 1897.
Now his search for the Doctor began in earnest because if anyone knew what happened or how he could be fixed, it was the Doctor. Granted, not dying was nice -- it was still vaguely disconcerting to be blown to smithereens by a bomb and yet wake up three days later in pristine condition. His search for the Doctor drew the attention of Torchwood, though it took them until 1899 to finally catch up with him in Cardiff. They knew who he was (Jack wasn't exactly discrete where the whole immortality thing was concerned in those days) and before Jack knew it, he was recruited to Torchwood. The agreement was simple: he'd work for them and they wouldn't lock him up in a cell for the rest of his long existence. At the time, it seemed like a good deal. Looking back, Jack's not quite so sure.
And such is the beginning of Jack's long and sordid history with Torchwood. He worked as nothing more than a grunt agent for roughly a hundred years, watching as the agents changed rapidly. Torchwood wasn't exactly the sort of job that offered a lifetime of security and safety. Jack found he was given the more dangerous of jobs as, why waste a good agent when you had someone who couldn't die on your hands? Jack rebelled, and rebelled often -- but they always found a way to drag him back into Torchwood. By the 1940s, his resistance had worn down and he was a Torchwood Agent for life... a very, very long life. The longer he remained with the organisation, the more he began to change it. Little things, but important things: like take-to-study as opposed to kill-on-sight.
Jack was happy in the role he was forced into: Torchwood Senior Agent. He didn't have to be a leader, but his colleagues still looked to him like he was. Jack's life is made up of seminal points: the day he joined the Agency, the day he met John, the day he met the Doctor -- but all of those dates paled in comparison to New Year's Eve, 2000. Just after midnight, the the-current leader Alex Hopkins decided that the future was too bleak for his team and decided to relieve them of the pain that was to come. Sorry he couldn't do the same for Jack, Alex shot himself in front of Jack, leaving Jack alone with Torchwood to deal with the aftermath. Now the defacto leader of Torchwood Three, Jack began to seek out a new team -- ones who would follow the same vision he had for Torchwood. It was a new idea he had; an idea that fell in line with the ideals the Doctor and the Agency had instilled in him. There are some instances where Jack will still kill-on-sight, but only when absolutely necessary. Suzie was the first one Jack found, followed soon after by both Toshiko and Owen. Suzie had the skills to be Jack's second in command while Toshiko became the brains behind the operation. Owen, though an ass in his personality, was exactly what Jack needed in a medical officer. As for Ianto? Well, it was Ianto who found Jack; though it took quite a bit of persuasion for the former Torchwood Institute lackey to find approval in Jack's eyes.
ACTOR/ACTRESS USED: John Barrowman
TARDIS
(If you are not a Time Lord or Lady, then ignore this section. If you are, then you MUST fill this part out.)
- Name: Name of your TARDIS
- Description: A small paragraph please. Remember, a paragraph consists of at least four sentences.
POST RP EXAMPLE:With his elbows propped on the edge of his desk, Jack rubbed his temples as he went through the files for the day. If there was anything he hated, it was the paperwork. Ianto seemed to get off on it and all the filing but Jack couldn't stand it. He'd rather be out in the field doing actual work as opposed to doing something as menial as filling out the pages that said what aliens they'd encountered this week.
It was one aspect of the job Jack couldn't avoid no matter how he wanted to. While he'd been in Torchwood for around a hundred or so years, Jack knew this would not be the last place he worked. So, while he could rattle off any number of alien that had spent time in the cells or most of the artefacts that had come through the Rift -- there would be a time when Jack wouldn't be around to give out the information when it was needed.
Which meant paperwork.
Which also meant that Jack was going to have a headache before 9 am. Bloody fantastic.
Going back to rubbing his temples with one hand, Jack scribbled in his neat script, filling out the form for their latest residents down in the cells. They'd be here for a few more days before Jack would decide how best to send them back through the Rift. Tosh's predictor programs were getting better and better so hopefully they'd be stuck with their presence for a few more days. Jack muttered and cursed under his breath, his mumblings beginning to trail off as he caught the first whiff of coffee.
Oh blessed brew -- maybe he wouldn't have a headache after all. Jack smiled as Ianto entered the office, his eyes immediately drawn to the cup in Ianto's hands.
"Oh bless you and bringing me coffee," Jack said with a sigh, holding his hands out for the mug. "You absolutely read my mind. Yes, coffee would be bloody fantastic right about now."
* THE face BEHIND the MASK!
Alias: Jack
Age: old enough. X)
Gender: female
RP Experience: again, long enough. Don't make me count how long. It'll depress me.
Where did you find us?: Advert.
Rules: ayep!