"More fun that living with my parents too. And don't worry, we only have cameras watching your every move at work." She tells it like it's teasing, but he'll find out eventually that it's very much not.
It's a relief to see him relax a little and show maybe a bit of optimism about the future. Tosh makes a mental note to get him a computer of his own, and some of whatever software people use to make graphics and videos for him to play with.
"I bet you'll be brilliant. Retro things are really popular, too, so don't worry too much about trying to change everything. I'll take care of setting you up with a birth certificate, driving license, things like that. We can always just make up some places for you to have worked and sort it out later if someone wants a reference."
These are things she's good at. Setting Ginsberg up so that on paper he fits into the current year will be the easiest part.
It's a relief to see him relax a little and show maybe a bit of optimism about the future. Tosh makes a mental note to get him a computer of his own, and some of whatever software people use to make graphics and videos for him to play with.
"I bet you'll be brilliant. Retro things are really popular, too, so don't worry too much about trying to change everything. I'll take care of setting you up with a birth certificate, driving license, things like that. We can always just make up some places for you to have worked and sort it out later if someone wants a reference."
These are things she's good at. Setting Ginsberg up so that on paper he fits into the current year will be the easiest part.
"Only dead ones." She grins at his expression. "Had to go undercover as a pathologist. It wasn't meant to be me, but Owen was hungover and not answering his phone." The fact that she blithely relates all of this without seeming to think there's anything at all unusual says a lot about the work environment she's used to.
When they arrive at their destination, Tosh takes a deep breath and falls in behind Ginsberg, her earlier cheer and confidence giving way to the shy uncertainty of a person faced with a completely alien situation. There's no way she won't be sticking to him like his shadow, at least until she gets some kind of feel for her surroundings and how they operate. It almost reminds her of the day she started university.
"Well, most of our work is fueled by pizza and coffee, so I'm not one to judge."
When they arrive at their destination, Tosh takes a deep breath and falls in behind Ginsberg, her earlier cheer and confidence giving way to the shy uncertainty of a person faced with a completely alien situation. There's no way she won't be sticking to him like his shadow, at least until she gets some kind of feel for her surroundings and how they operate. It almost reminds her of the day she started university.
"Well, most of our work is fueled by pizza and coffee, so I'm not one to judge."
"You don't know how to drive?" She shouldn't sound so gleeful, but finally, someone will have to let her do the driving. "We'll teach you and then just get you a license the proper way. Anyway, probably for the best, you know we drive on the left here."
He actually does look a little nauseated, and Tosh rushes to get him a glass of water before putting on the kettle for tea. She gave up on making coffee when Ianto started working at Torchwood. It never tasted right when she made it herself. Besides, she grew up too English not to see tea as a comfort beverage.
"I've never been to the future myself, but I've been into the past. So I know a little bit what you're feeling. But you'll be all right. You're smart and creative, and the world is a lot more accepting of people now. You don't have to care as much about fitting in and being what someone else thinks you ought to be."
When the kettle whistles, she pours two mugs and brings them to the couch, sitting down next to Ginsberg with her arm against his, like she did when they had their talk under the tree back in the City.
He actually does look a little nauseated, and Tosh rushes to get him a glass of water before putting on the kettle for tea. She gave up on making coffee when Ianto started working at Torchwood. It never tasted right when she made it herself. Besides, she grew up too English not to see tea as a comfort beverage.
"I've never been to the future myself, but I've been into the past. So I know a little bit what you're feeling. But you'll be all right. You're smart and creative, and the world is a lot more accepting of people now. You don't have to care as much about fitting in and being what someone else thinks you ought to be."
When the kettle whistles, she pours two mugs and brings them to the couch, sitting down next to Ginsberg with her arm against his, like she did when they had their talk under the tree back in the City.
"I can teach you. There are lots of places to practice, and cars these days practically drive themselves."
She takes a sip of her tea as a way of encouraging him to do the same, and nods, smiling. "Promise. It's not perfect, I mean there are plenty of problems still, and it's not like everyone loves and accepts everyone else. But on the whole, things have gotten a lot better. Not just about sexuality, but about gender equality and civil rights... There's always more improvement to be made, and there are ways that the world is still sort of shitty. But yeah. It's better."
She takes a sip of her tea as a way of encouraging him to do the same, and nods, smiling. "Promise. It's not perfect, I mean there are plenty of problems still, and it's not like everyone loves and accepts everyone else. But on the whole, things have gotten a lot better. Not just about sexuality, but about gender equality and civil rights... There's always more improvement to be made, and there are ways that the world is still sort of shitty. But yeah. It's better."
The creative lounge is nothing like the kind of place Tosh is used to working. She's always surrounded by machinery and computer screens, artificial light and the ever-present noises of the rift manipulator and the running water of the fountain above them. This is new and fascinating, and she finds herself drifting a little around the room, looking at the sketches and storyboards.
She does turn back to face the two men when Ginsberg makes his introduction, with a grin of her own. "Pleased to finally meet you, Stan. Hope we aren't interrupting anything too impossible to recover."
With a half-teasing look, she adds in Ginsberg's direction, "Your workspace is loads nicer than mine."
She does turn back to face the two men when Ginsberg makes his introduction, with a grin of her own. "Pleased to finally meet you, Stan. Hope we aren't interrupting anything too impossible to recover."
With a half-teasing look, she adds in Ginsberg's direction, "Your workspace is loads nicer than mine."
"Can't promise there won't be people who react poorly to you being yourself, but there are always people like that. This is a good time to be the creative sort, or the intellectual sort, though. And a good time to just be the kind of person who isn't like anyone else you'll meet."
All the reassurances in the world aren't going to convince him until he experiences it for himself, she knows, but she wants him to at least feel comfortable trying to make a go of it. (She also bets that a few days immersing himself in popular culture will prove that there are plenty of people out there bucking convention a lot harder than Ginsberg is likely to do.)
"You know, I haven't had a real vacation in ages. I think I deserve one, considering I just crammed months of time in an alternate dimension into what everyone here is going to think is an afternoon at the cinema. Think I'll take a few days, and give you the grand tour of Cardiff. Sound like fun? Could even pop iver to London if you wanted."
All the reassurances in the world aren't going to convince him until he experiences it for himself, she knows, but she wants him to at least feel comfortable trying to make a go of it. (She also bets that a few days immersing himself in popular culture will prove that there are plenty of people out there bucking convention a lot harder than Ginsberg is likely to do.)
"You know, I haven't had a real vacation in ages. I think I deserve one, considering I just crammed months of time in an alternate dimension into what everyone here is going to think is an afternoon at the cinema. Think I'll take a few days, and give you the grand tour of Cardiff. Sound like fun? Could even pop iver to London if you wanted."
"Remind me to tell you sometime about our pest problem." Not in front of Stan, though, because there's no way she can even approach the idea of a pet dinosaur without sounding completely nuts, and probably causing difficulty for Ginsberg in the process.
She does laugh at the joke, though, and nods encouragingly when he wants to run off and deal with whoever needs to know that he's taking the rest of the day. Tosh can hold her own with Stan's flirtation, and does indeed manage an enjoyable conversation with him while she waits. It doesn't do anything to solve his dilemma about whether she's dating Ginsberg or not, but she thinks she does all right in convincing him that she's harmless and not-crazy.
"No trouble, then?" Three minutes wouldn't have been nearly enough time back at the Hub, not to navigate everyone's nosy need for details on exactly why she'd be taking off suddenly in the middle of the day. But they're probably all a lot more polite here.
She does laugh at the joke, though, and nods encouragingly when he wants to run off and deal with whoever needs to know that he's taking the rest of the day. Tosh can hold her own with Stan's flirtation, and does indeed manage an enjoyable conversation with him while she waits. It doesn't do anything to solve his dilemma about whether she's dating Ginsberg or not, but she thinks she does all right in convincing him that she's harmless and not-crazy.
"No trouble, then?" Three minutes wouldn't have been nearly enough time back at the Hub, not to navigate everyone's nosy need for details on exactly why she'd be taking off suddenly in the middle of the day. But they're probably all a lot more polite here.
"Last holiday I tried to take wound up with me and Jack stuck in 1941. I'm sort of looking forward something a little more normal."
Now that they're in Wales again, Ginsberg isn't going to be able to avoid the residual weirdness that comes with being friends with a Torchwood employee. Especially one who has a hard time keeping those kinds of things to herself when there's a friendly ear around to share them with.
"Maybe we can hunt up some videos of older films too, so I can get a better sense of exactly how much I'm going to need to prepare you for. But at least you've already got a head start on the technology, being in the City, right?"
Now that they're in Wales again, Ginsberg isn't going to be able to avoid the residual weirdness that comes with being friends with a Torchwood employee. Especially one who has a hard time keeping those kinds of things to herself when there's a friendly ear around to share them with.
"Maybe we can hunt up some videos of older films too, so I can get a better sense of exactly how much I'm going to need to prepare you for. But at least you've already got a head start on the technology, being in the City, right?"
Honestly, it's pretty flattering to have someone be that openly pleased to have her around, and Tosh has to resist the strongest urge to hug him for that eager look. Instead, she grins back at him and takes a deep breath, looking around the people they pass as they head down to the entrance. It's sort of weird all of a sudden, the realization that she's here for good, that at some point, somehow, she'll just up and vanish from her life in her own time. That she'll have to learn how to live in this time, which is neither quiet familiar enough nor quite alien enough to be entirely comfortable yet.
"Something to eat sounds perfect. Sort of...ease back into the normal world, you know? I keep catching myself wondering things like why everyone looks so much the same, why I can't hear the clock ticking, whether I'm going to step out onto the street and into an invasion of talking rabbits or something."
"Something to eat sounds perfect. Sort of...ease back into the normal world, you know? I keep catching myself wondering things like why everyone looks so much the same, why I can't hear the clock ticking, whether I'm going to step out onto the street and into an invasion of talking rabbits or something."
"That's that, then. The only traveling we'll do is by car or train, and absolutely no going backward or forward in time."
Not that they could actually do anything to prevent it, but Tosh figures that the likelihood increases dramatically with proximity to Jack and/or the Rift. Keep Ginsberg away from both for a while, and they should be able to get in a few days of pretending the world is entirely dull and normal.
She shakes her head at the sketchy understanding he demonstrates of 'modern' tech. "If you drop your phone in water, just put it in a jar of rice. That'll pull the moisture right out. Assuming you didn't leave it at the bottom of the ocean for a month or something. And everyone puts foil in the microwave at one time or another. It's sort of beautiful how the sparks jump and arc." The mischievous expression on her face does nothing to indicate whether she's joking or serious about that part. "You're definitely going to want to learn to use the internet, though. But we'll take it all slow, I promise. Baby steps."
Not that they could actually do anything to prevent it, but Tosh figures that the likelihood increases dramatically with proximity to Jack and/or the Rift. Keep Ginsberg away from both for a while, and they should be able to get in a few days of pretending the world is entirely dull and normal.
She shakes her head at the sketchy understanding he demonstrates of 'modern' tech. "If you drop your phone in water, just put it in a jar of rice. That'll pull the moisture right out. Assuming you didn't leave it at the bottom of the ocean for a month or something. And everyone puts foil in the microwave at one time or another. It's sort of beautiful how the sparks jump and arc." The mischievous expression on her face does nothing to indicate whether she's joking or serious about that part. "You're definitely going to want to learn to use the internet, though. But we'll take it all slow, I promise. Baby steps."
"God, I hadn't even thought about all of that." And she's going to have to do it on Ginsberg's dime, too, because nobody here is going to accept currency printed forty years in the future, and she doesn't exactly have a credit rating. "Just a couple of necessities til I get on my feet. I suppose it's going to be a challenge getting the sort of work I'm used to, isn't it?"
That being the sort of work that even in the twenty-first century, women are still far outnumbered by men.
"Food first," she agrees, putting her arm through his without thinking about it, as much for her reassurance as for his. "And then we'll worry about all the other little things."
That being the sort of work that even in the twenty-first century, women are still far outnumbered by men.
"Food first," she agrees, putting her arm through his without thinking about it, as much for her reassurance as for his. "And then we'll worry about all the other little things."
Right. So. Going with her showing up in his world... fuck plurk
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
"Ginsberg!" Laruna called out his name, waving wildly through a crowd of people. She's like that crazy person who sees someone at the airport and just can't wait to see that person and is bouncing up and down on their feet and walking at the same time.
Page 41 of 44