Jack/Ianto

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Pairing
Pairing: Jack Harkness / Ianto Jones
Alternative name(s): Janto, J/I
Gender category: slash, M/M
Fandom: Torchwood
Canonical?: Yes
Prevalence: popular
Archives: JackxIanto (LJ)
Jantoloution (LJ)
Other:
"drawing of Jack and Ianto standing at a railing and their heads are close together"
Jack and Ianto Black and White by celedansuniverse (2017)
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Jack/Ianto, also commonly called Janto, is the canonical slash pairing between Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones from the series Torchwood. The pairing is immensely popular among fans.

Canon

The character Captain Jack Harkness was created for Doctor Who, and is established as omnisexual in that series ('The Empty Child'). His relationship with Ianto is ambiguous during Series 1 of Torchwood, from the point of view of audience surrogate Gwen Cooper. Their sexual relationship is revealed on-screen in Series 2, and the depth of feeling between them is explored during 'Children of Earth.'

Fandom

Jack/Ianto is the most popular pairing in Torchwood fandom. It is also an example of a beloved canon pairing, something which was relatively new to slash fandom in 2008.

There was huge backlash following Ianto's death in season 3 of Torchwood. See Fan Reaction to Ianto's Death. Fanfic writers responded with many fix-its and Ianto Lives fics. These works often overlapped with Immortal Ianto Jones works; a trope which began to gain popularity around the same time.

Common Tropes & Storylines

  • As much of their early relationship development was not shown on screen, fanfic often fills in the gaps. There are first dates, first kisses and first time fics.
  • One of Jacks' lines in the Torchwood pilot provided a canon basis for mpreg stories. This trope is relatively common, and it is often Jack who is or was pregnant. Pregnant Ianto is rarer but does appear in fanworks.
  • Time travel stories sometimes involve Ianto traveling through time, and meeting a past or future version of Jack. There are also AU stories, where Ianto is recast as a Time Agent.
  • Immortal Ianto Jones
  • AUs
    • Post Season 3 AUs are often fix-its
    • Works featuring Immortal Ianto Jones include far future AUs, given Jack's canon immortality.

Awards

Fanworks

Fanfic

  • Get Loved, Make More, Try to Stay Alive by Dira Sudis "When we don't die young and violently, we die weird. Well, or all three, case in point."
  • Splash by Storms-Are-My-Nature Sometimes it's too hard to say goodbye... The team go on a trip to the Channel Islands, but what appears to be an easy, light-hearted job turns into more than they had bargained for...
  • Here we go again by Jiwa When Ianto Jones died in the Thames House, he didn't expect to wake up in the past. And what he definitely didn't expect, was that with his knowledge about the future, he had the power to change everything.

Fanvids

Meta/Further Reading

Communities & Archives

Threesomes including this pairing:

References