six_word_stories | (no subject)

I do my best to tell her that what she sees on television isn't real, as does my charming husband. But sometimes it is a little hard when reality and television start to blur some lines.

I suppose there is that. Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between truth and fiction even as an adult. Certain news stations come to mind...

I don't pay much attention to the news. [ Gwen seems to be more focused on tabloids where she might find hints concerning her job. ] Either the world is on fire or things are just fine.

Usually there's smoke before there's fire. If you can get to the flashpoint before the fire starts, you can keep the world from catching on fire in the first place...

True. But it depends on what type of fire you're looking to put out. I'm looking for the fires that people don't think exist, or would call me half mad to put out.

Funny how those are the fires that most need putting out, isn't it?

That they do. Though I have to wonder if we're talking about the same type of fires.

Well, as you said, there are fires, then there are fires that some people don't like to confess exist...

[ Gwen's eyes dart upwards towards the sky, and she was wondering if she made herself obvious or not, and not as if Torchwood is a thing to worry about these days. ]

I was thinking more along the lines of things like the Boogeyman or UFOs.

UFOs strike me as highly unlikely. Boogeymen, on the other hand...

Now, now, the Boogeyman is the thing I try to tell my daughter doesn't exist under her bed at night.

[ A coy smile starts to form on her lips. ]

And I tell her stories of glittering women who look like mermaids in the sky are so very real.

Funny, the mermaids I know all live under the water...

[And there's no sarcasm or anything like it in his tone or manner.]

Do they now? I thought they all came from space!

[ Her tone is playful, and Gwen knows not to put doubt in anything anymore. ]

Nope, ocean. Mermaid. Mer maid. Mer, ocean. Maid, girl. Mer-maid. Ocean girl...

Who's to say Earth is the only planet with an ocean? And besides how do Mermaids find themselves in our oceans?

But, if they come from another planet, they still wouldn't be called mermaids. That implies terrestrial original. They'd be xeno... something. Henry gave me the theoretical name once, but I can't recall.

[He considers her other question, bemused.]

That's like asking how humans find themselves on land. It's where they live. It's where they evolved...

Edited 2017-10-06 00:04 (UTC)

[ Gwen isn't being the least bit serious, but she is having a bit of fun pulling this poor guy's legs. ]

But I've never seen a mermaid who lives in the sea before. I've seen ones that look like those, but they tended to float in the sky. And, yes, they were twice as deadly. You know with the whole luring men to their doom.

{It's not that Will doesn't know a joke when he hears one, it's just that he's used to people talking about these kinds of things very seriously. Also, considering he routinely goes swimming with a mermaid, he has no reason to doubt her seriousness.]

Well, if it isn't bound to the ocean, it's definitely not a mermaid. Mermaids are aquatic by definition, and they don't lure men to their doom. Could be a siren, I suppose. Did she have wings?

[ Having some freedom to talk about these things is a bit of a relief for Gwen. ]

Aeromaid? She had wings that resembled transparent fins. [ She purses her lips in thought. ] Okay, so maybe she was a flying siren but she had the tail like a mermaid and the fangs of one of those angler fish.

Well, I mean, mermaids can have pretty sharp teeth, but...

[He shakes his head. Theoretically, he knows that a mermaid can rip apart another mermaid with its claws and teeth, but they are a peaceful species except in extremis. This woman is describing something else entirely.]

Transparent wings, huh? You don't have pictures, do you?

[ Gwen takes a deep breath, and she shakes her head. There's so much that was lost with the destruction of the Torchwood HUB. ]

Sadly, all I have now are stories. But the people that I worked for didn't exactly have a proper name for what she was, so we simply called her a Mermaid. I just have told my daughter the full details of what she truly was.

She was a beauty, but she was deadly.

A lot of beautiful things are deadly. Sometimes, that's half their charm...

Doctor Will Zimmerman, by the way. [He offers his hand to shake.]

[ Gwen takes the offered hand, and she gives it a shake. ]

A pleasure, Doctor Zimmerman. Gwen. Gwen Cooper. I worked with or still somewhat work for a now defunct agency called Torchwood. We were based out of Cardiff.

[ ooc: I'm totally cool with Will and Sanctuary knowing about Torchwood. :> ]

Call me Will. [He smiles and gives her hand a shake.] I've heard all about Torchwood and, on behalf of an organization called the Sanctuary, if you or any of yours ever need a place to hide out, just let us know...

(ooc: that works :) plus that way he feels like they have something in common since, by the end of Sanctuary, they're in basically the same boat as Torchwood with being "terrorists")

Will it is then. And Gwen will do.

[ She has a bright smile on her face, and Gwen recalls hearing Ianto talk about them during their briefings. But with an ocean and a good size of a continent between them, Torchwood mostly kept to events surrounding The Rift. ]

I heard a little bit about you lot. Though it was only in passing, my old boss tended to keep better tabs on these things than I did. And I can only do the same, Will. I don't know much about what the things you deal with, but I can help out where I can.

[ She lets go of his hand. ] But right now I'm just happy I've been able to settle down. Being on the run isn't exactly a good thing with a little one.

(ooc: There's new stuff that came out for Torchwood about Gwen and Jack starting over from scratch pretty much. And man I really wish Netflix and stuff would air Sanctuary. :?)