Toshiko Sato

How did you get into RPing? Why do you still do it?

I began rping a very long time ago, back in the very early days of Stargate SG1. A group of us, all Brits who became friends irl would go online, create OCs, and rp out missions. When we look back on it, all very Mary-Sueesque if we are being honest.

I ended up taking a long break from it (around eight years long), and it was only around three years ago I began to feel the urge again. Fandom had been driving me mad, as it does so many people, and it was Life on Mars fandom that started me first writing again, then back into rp. Tosh was one of the early characters I took up, as I fell in love with her as soon as we were introduced to her, and has always been one of my favourite characters – so much depth to draw from with her. I don't rp with Tosh as much as I should, and that is one of the things I'm hoping to change with her, as I'm currently doing a canon rewatch, and her voice is coming back stronger than ever.

"Why does it have to be that?" Tosh demanded of Owen, looking squarely at him.

"Hello? Alien catchers?" Owen replied, glancing round at the rest of the team. "It's kind of Torchwood's thing, just in case you forgot."

She narrowly avoided rolling her eyes in response. "Just because we catch aliens doesn't automatically mean that every single weird occurrence on the planet is due to them."

"It's a fair bet, though," Owen said, sitting back in his chair, glaring at Tosh.

"It shows absolutely no alien characteristics. I'm betting it's some paranormal nutter, testing us," she said, dismissing his concerns. "We've gotten pretty well known round here, let's face it. I shut down the websites as soon as I can, but as soon as I do, two more pop up in their place."

"And what if it isn't human? What if it is alien? People could be in danger."

"Always wanting to be the hero, aren't we?" Tosh said.

"How long are you pair going to be carrying on for?" Jack asked from his seat, his hand on his cheek, watching the argument. "Just wanted to know if we need to ask Ianto to make coffee."

"We're not arguing," both Tosh and Owen responded at the same time. Gwen and Ianto looked at each other, smirking.

"Coffee, Ianto?" Jack said in a lazy voice. "Tosh, Owen does have a point."

"Just because it always has been aliens, doesn't mean it always will be. I'm just saying we should expand our thinking a little. Maybe that signal was just a 'hello, look at us'. Wouldn't be the first time, nor would it be the last."

"You know, there is an easy way to sort this out," Gwen said, leaning back in her chair.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Why don't you go and ask, instead of getting all caught up in the science? God, I don't know what you lost did before I came along." Gwen looked between Owen and Tosh. "I just think you like arguing for the sake of it."

Tosh glanced at Owen, hiding a smile. There was a part of her that would agree with that, but she would never, ever say it out loud.

"Um. People?" Ianto said, interrupting. "You might want to take a look at this." He pressed a button on the remote control in the middle of the table, bringing up and image of the house in question.

"Oh you are kidding me," Jack said, suddenly bursting out laughing.

"What the hell?"

"Disco lights? Giving out that frequency? How?" Tosh said, pulling up the readings.

"Guess someone wanted a party," Ianto said, laughing. "Owen, looks like Tosh was right."

"Yes and no," she replied. "Look." She focused in tightly on something that definitely didn't belong there. "What is that thing?"

"Uh oh," was Jack's response, as he stood up.

"Uh oh? Are we talking another sex monster uh oh, or another ex uh oh? An idea might be nice," Owen asked.

"As in we really need to catch that before it causes damage. It loves a good party, but gets... messy when it gets excited."

"Define messy," Ianto asked, smoothing down his suit as he stood up.

"Slimer from Ghostbusters messy. They didn't know that they based him on that thing. Hasn't been seen for a while. It just... likes a good time."

"Lucky it," Owen muttered, before heading out of the door after the rest of them.


Toshiko Sato
Torchwood
Word Count: 572

List of presents obtained at Christmas.

From her grandfather: A Christmas cake*. (Note to self, need to remind him I’m happy being single).

From Jack: A new computer system. Well, the authorisation to go ahead and spend what I need building it. Should keep me going for a while.

From Gwen: A home made voucher for a girly shopping trip to London. Cardiff is all very well, but you just can’t get the range you can in London.

From Ianto: Coffee. A lot of his favourite coffee to be able to drink at home.

From Owen: A silly soft toy. God knows why. But it's cute.


*The Christmas cake reference is to a Japanese tradition where Christmas cakes are bought on the 24th, then the price drops dramatically on the 25th December to try and shift them. Young girls are sometimes referred to as Christmas cakes; marriageable until their 25th birthday, then requiring heavy discounts to get married thereafter.

Toshiko Sato
Torchwood
Word Count: 105

How do you approach prompt writing with your character? Eg Do you have ideas and then find a prompt to fit them or are you inspired by the prompt? How much does having a deadline make a difference? How many more would you write if there was a direct feed from your brain to your computer?

For Toshiko, it varies from prompt to prompt really. There have been times I have had ideas that I’ve just had to write, to get them down on paper quickly, then have gone through lists of prompts to try and find one to fit. The frustration sometimes as I look for just the right prompt is amusing, well, certainly to me.

More often than not though, I’m inspired by the prompt itself. I look at the list, be it here or at any of the other prompt communities Tosh is part of, think ‘ooooooooo’ and start writing from there. Though depending on what I’ve written lately, I will try to write something ‘different’. Sometimes I need a kick, though. I need to create AUs for her, can’t be just about canon, after all (hint hint, if anyone wants to rp/work with me, I’m up for interaction!).

Deadlines to help me. I’m currently writing a fic for femgenficathon, and knowing that the deadline is coming up is a great focusing tool for me. I try not to leave everything quite till the last thing, but you can guarantee I won’t get it done in the first half of the allocated time!

I don’t know if I would write more if there was a direct feed to my computer from my brain. I’m one of those strange people who actually enjoys writing longhand. I do my best writing on trains, for instance, or stupidly, late at night while sitting up in bed. I have the pens I like, I have the notepads I like (bottom line, I spend way too much money in Paperchase), and I can happily write 1000 words long hand in about 45 mins just before bed. I have no idea why, and it irritates me at times (and my partner, actually), but it’s just the way I work.

Toshiko Sato
Torchwood
Word Count: 311

Coldplay: 42

They sat at their consoles, staring at the screens, but not really seeing what was on them. Occasionally, Ianto would walk past, either heading into Jack’s office with something for him to sign, or to deliver coffee or something equally as inane to them.

“How...?” Tosh started and stopped, glancing briefly at Owen, then back at her screen. Both of them were studiously avoiding looking at the area where Suzie worked.

“Gwen is starting properly tomorrow, remember,” Jack said, walking past, his greatcoat flowing out behind him. Tosh and Owen watched as he went through the rolling door outside, both of them staying silent.

Owen slammed his clipboard down on the desk. “Sod this. I’ve had enough. You. Me. Pint. Let’s go.”

Tosh looked up at him, surprised. Despite her feelings for him, there had always been an underlying friendship between them – one which Tosh relished. She nodded, starting to switch off her computer. “Just give me two minutes,” she said, gathering her things together.

Twenty minutes later, they’d found one of the quieter pubs in Cardiff, and were sitting facing each other at a table, both of them with pints in their hands. “What gets me,” Owen said, after downing about half of the pint quickly, “is that we’re supposed to just bloody well carry on as normal.”

Tosh paused, thinking. “I think for him, it has to,” she said, carefully. Owen gave her a quizzical look. “Remember Jeff?”

“Yeah. Here before Suzie. What’s that got to do with it?” Owen asked, bemused.

“Remember how he spent a day in the middle of Cardiff, yelling out that ‘Aliens were coming, the end of the world is nigh?’” Owen laughed slightly then nodded. Tosh leaned forward slightly. “He claimed that aliens told him to say that.”

“Oh for god’s sake,” Owen said. “Nut job.”

“Actually, apparently there were. Jack found evidence of them in his flat.”

“Why didn’t I know? I’m the medical officer, after all.”

“Owen, you’d been there two months. Apparently Jack decided to take matters into his own hands. And there was the incident at the millennium.”

“Tosh, I didn’t know you were the gossip amongst us,” Owen said, smirking.

Tosh flushed slightly. “Well, I’m the one who has to fill out reports – it gives me access to some of the buried files. Did you know that Jack’s boss killed everyone except him when the year 2000 came along?”

“No. And really, I don’t see what this has to do with Suzie killing people then using the glove!” Owen said, pointing out what he thought was obvious.

“Don’t you see?” Tosh said, showing insight into Jack. “He has to keep going. It’s one of those things he has to do. Bury the past, move onto the future. Suzie’s part of that. She’s one of those things he has to carry around with him – the fact that he couldn’t help her, couldn’t stop her. And god knows how many he’s had to carry around with him.”

Owen looked at Tosh and shook his head. “Okay, so Jack might not be human emotionally, but he’s gotta remember that we are. That we miss our colleagues, are shocked by what they do. How are we supposed to cope?”

Tosh sighed in response. “When you find out, let me know.”


Toshiko Sato
Torchwood
Word Count: 549

If you had to pick one episode/story that defined your character, which would it be?

The one episode which I feel defined Tosh, was the episode ‘To the Last Man’ in Season Two. I thought about all the Season One ones, but this to me strikes more of a chord. Please accept my apologies for what is pretty much a ramble!

This episode, for me, showed so many sides of Tosh. From the gentle, caring side, excited to see Tommy no matter what, through realising that she may be falling for him even with the knowledge that he will only be awake for one day of the year, and then dealing with the realisation that this is the year when he has to go back to 1918 to save the world. It heartbreakingly shows how alone Tosh is in her life, that she is willing to accept that situation, that chance as better than what she has now.

But the episode also showed other sides of her. When she realises that she is the one who has to make Tommy do what he needs to, she hates it at first, but she does it, even knowing that once he is back he will be court martialled and executed for cowardice, because she knows it is for the good of not only her friends and team, but the whole world. At the end of the day, Tosh is like all the rest of the team, she will do what she needs to for the greater good, even if it means putting your feelings aside, and talking to a man who she loves on some level – and who loved her in return, and forcing him to turn that key, trusting in him.

For me, this episode also helps define her relationship with Owen. They have always been friendly (well, most of the time, apart from the odd blip), but here, there is a definite shift both on Owen’s part – this is the first time he shows that he cares about her, even if only as a friend – and Tosh, who we’ve known for a long time is in love with him, seems more comfortable with him as a friend. It’s from here on in that there is a genuine swing in their relationship, with the pair of them becoming closer, leading up to their amazing final scene together at the end of Season 2.

Toshiko Sato
Torchwood
Word Count: 387

Your character comes across something non-human.

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

"Organic? Alien?"

"Both. Could be a new kind of lifeform."

"You're supposed to be the expert, you know."

"Owen, you are as much as expert as I am."

"No need to get snippy. Where did you find it?"

"Down on the docks. Was tracing a strange signal, came across it. Kids were hanging round it. I chased them off, brought it here."

"You chased kids off? Big brave..."

"Shut up, Owen. Now, are you going to help me or not?"

"God, what's got into you today. Well, I guess so, since the others have buggered off and it's quiet as hell round here. What do you want? And polite answers only."

"*sighs* Put it on that table. I want to run a full spectral analysis on it."

"I get to do the donkey work while you sit back and press buttons? That's a bit unfair isn't it?"

"Do you want to figure out the energies of it, because I'm willing to let you."

"Haha. Give me that. There, in place."

"Stand back."

"Stand back?"

"Well unless you want x-rays going near your genitals, I suggest you stand back."

"Okay, okay, moving. And hurry up Tosh, I'm dying for a piss."

"You could have said before. Three, two, one..."

*pause*

"Well, I didn't expect that to happen."

"No kidding."

"You okay?"

"You couldn't have warned me?"

"I did, I told you to stand back. I didn't know it was going to..."

"Explode in quite so messy a way?

"Yeah."

"You owe me a bloody drink."

Toshiko Sato
Torchwood
Word Count: 260
Owen used with permission of like_jesus

Prompt 56.1. Photo - Sunrise

Verse: hearts_andminds

( Four months today )

Toshiko Sato
Torchwood
Verse: Haurvatat
Word Count: 472

Owen used with permission of like_jesus

Prompt 46.3 What's your first memory?

Sakura.

I was two and a half years old. We’d moved to Osaka about six months earlier, and it was spring. Grandmother kept telling me that there was a special time coming, that I would see the most beautiful thing I could ever see. Even father was looking forward to it. It was time for the cherry blossom festivals.

In later years, I would learn how eagerly the festival is awaited in Japan, that the television would bring updates of the sakura zensen as it moved northwards across Japan. I would avidly watch the weather reports, waiting to see how close to Osaka the cherry blossom front had moved today. I’d learn how important the festival was to everyone, the meanings behind it.

But I will always remember the first time I saw sakura trees.

There were thousands of people walking towards the ‘Cherry Blossom Lane’ in the Japan Mint gardens. It’s the most popular place in Osaka to view the precious flowers. I remember I started off holding my mother’s hand, but in the end my father picked me up and carried me, for fear of losing me in the crowd. I could sense the excitement in the air as we walked along.

And suddenly I saw them. A vast area of white. The thousands of trees in the garden were all in bloom, and each one looked like a fluffy white cloud. I wriggled in my father’s arms, trying to get a better look. At some point my mouth must have dropped open in surprise, as he gently closed it with a smile at me. I remember looking up at the tops of the trees and the occasional flower dropping quietly onto me.

As we walked along, my father quietly told me about sakura, though it was only when I was older that I understood what he was saying. “The flowers don’t live for long, Toshiko. A week at most, then they wither and die. They are there to remind us about life. The beauty and joy the flowers bring are only there for such a short time, and then they fade and die. Life is much the same. A quiet beginning, a brief burst of joy, and then we die.”


Toshiko Sato
Torchwood
Word count: 373