I do try to keep Jack and Ianto very much in this world, even when, as soon as you take them out of the Hub, they are aliens moving amongst people in a way, walking with the crowds, walking in the sunshine. Cardiff offers interesting contrasts there to play with as a setting as opposed to setting stories in the Hub, so I'm happy to explore those.

You know, I didn't even think of CoE when I wrote that but I can see your point actually. This version of Ianto is certainly less passive than the CoE version, and well, I hope a little less pathetic (and I say that as someone who did enjoy CoE and its plot points in general)