video | public service announcement, re: flying dinosaur

[coffeeking]

[Ianto is in the oxygen gardens, cooing softly at a pteranodon in Welsh. It's taller than he is, and its wingspan is huge as it spreads them wide to keep its balance as Ianto tosses what appears to be a piece of chocolate into the air. The pteranodon waits for him to do so before snatching the treat mid-air with its long beak and gulping it down happily. Inquisitively, it steps closer when there appears to be no more on its way, and Ianto pats her on the beak before addressing the communicator.]

Right, hi. Ah, some of you probably saw Doctor Ross's discovery of the dinosaur last night. She's actually a female pteranodon named Myfanwy. [He pronounces this Mee-vahn-wee, more or less. Welsh, go figure.] We kept her at my workplace back home, and I was mostly the one responsible for taking care of her. While she's not precisely tame, I can promise she isn't going to hurt anyone unprovoked.

[Myfanwy nudges at Ianto with her beak insistently, and Ianto pauses to stroke a hand between her wide-set eyes and murmur that he doesn't have any more. Clearly understanding the sentiment of the statement, if not the language, she comes as close to pouting as is possible for a dinosaur, making an irritated sound in her throat and rustling her wings.]

She likes chocolate, as you can see, so it's probably best not to go wandering about the oxygen garden with chocolate in your pockets. I can't be billed for drycleaning here. And it's probably best to keep any house pets out of the garden as well.

[He looks a bit sheepish at that.]

We taught her only to eat fish and anything we covered in a special barbecue sauce, but we don't have either here. We're having to resort to feeding her things from the kitchens, so it's lucky she doesn't eat much more than your average person. Unfortunately, we never did manage to break her of the habit of going after cats and small dogs, and the occasional flock of sheep. Retraining is always a hassle, so we don't want to tempt her.

[Clearly bored of the attention now that the chocolate has run dry, Myfanwy allows Ianto to pet her a few more moments before shuffling backwards and spreading her wings. With two powerful beats, she's airborne and flying away.]

Anyway, if you see her in the rafters somewhere, please don't shoot her, or throw things at her, or scream and run. She's perfectly content to ignore you unless Jack or I introduce you to her.

Comments

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[tumbleweeds]

She's gorgeous. [ HOWEVER... ] What about those of us who already have animals in the oxygen garden?

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[coffeeking]

The oxygen garden doesn't necessarily have to be her permanent habitat, if there's a problem. It just seemed the most logical place to put her. How big are your animals?

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[soothing]

How is she settling in?

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[coffeeking]

Well enough so far. She's adaptable.

voice →

[anomalies]

Wow. [ look at her go. ] Could I come up and meet her sometime? Formally, I mean, not...

[ ... like what happened earlier. important to make that distinction. ]

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[coffeeking]

[He is only side-eyeing you a little.]

Yeah, sure. Just let me know when.

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[deadandred]

[...What. What.]

....I'm gettin' less and less sure this isn't a Flash Gordon serial.

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[coffeeking]

...To be absolutely fair, anything is possible.

What year are you from?

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[stimulations]

Are these introductions by appointment?

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[coffeeking]

Not really. If I'm here, I can introduce you.

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[talkstoengines]

[Have a very fascinated-looking young woman. She's smiling a little.] Hěnguài! A real dinosaur? Too bad Wash ain't here to see this. How'd you get a dinosaur?

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[coffeeking]

[Ianto has to smile about the enthusiasm.]

She fell through a temporal rift back home and we picked her up. I'm not sure how she got on the ship, but then again none of us know how we got here either, so that's fair.

(NOT HERE)

[sweetmotherofgod]

[HER GARDENS OH GOD TO THINK SHE WAS MAD ABOUT THE COW]

(NOT HERE)

[coffeeking]

[In his defense, the pteranodon doesn't eat plants, keeps mostly to the rafters and steps about as lightly as any human when she lands. She is definitely not a cow.]

video and actually here this time

[sweetmotherofgod]

[EPIC. SIGH.]

This is going to be a problem. The best person we have working in the gardens has a rabbit he brings with him.

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[coffeeking]

Ah. Well, we could try to introduce them. She may look like a dumb lizard, but Myfanwy is actually quite smart, and learns well enough when things are off limits. There's nothing I can do about rabbits in general, but one particular rabbit is probably workable. If this person arrives on a schedule, I can also time it so that I feed Myfanwy just before, so she isn't tempted.

And if all else fails, I can find somewhere else to move her.

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[onsilksheets]

Why can't anyone just get a normal pet? Like a dog.

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[coffeeking]

You act like I popped on home and brought her back with me. I do realize a space ship is not an ideal living environment for a prehistoric flying lizard.

text;

[altercate]

Seriously.

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[coffeeking]

No, it's all just an elaborate illusion. Alas, you've seen through my ruse.

Seriously though, don't shoot my dinosaur. I'll be very put out.

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[constructum]

[ so now that she is over her clear embarrassment of thinking one thing and not the right thing. she has a few questions here.

so yes, just have a curiously looking ariadne staring at the screen for a minute, ianto. (she's honestly debating on where to start) ]

Where will she be staying?

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[coffeeking]

Hopefully, here in the gardens. She has enough space, plenty of room to fly around, and the artificial sunlight is good for her. There are naturally some concerns though, especially from the staff.

[voice]

[uncodlyawwesome]

Wwhat the fuck?

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[coffeeking]

Did you want to meet her, Eridan?

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[inspirited]

A dinosaur? Wow, I never thought I'd actually see one— they still exist where you're from?

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[coffeeking]

No, they don't. She fell through a rift in time.

[It's so weird having to explain this to people who aren't already involved with Torchwood.]

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[scamp]

[This would be one of those rare instances where Miles actually sounds like a kid.]

I wanna meet her.

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[coffeeking]

Come by any time. Something tells me I'll be sticking around a while, and I've had a number of other requests.

[Which he's happy about. It'll be good for Myfanwy to be familiar with more of the people here, and for more of the people here to get used to Myfanwy.]

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[dirtyword]

....So you guys live in a world with dinosaurs, huh? [ wat. ]

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[coffeeking]

Not...really, no. She's something of a special circumstance.