Intro Log

[progressmods]

Who: Everyone!
What: Your first magical day
Where: Progress City Tranport Center
When: Right now
Warnings: None planned!



[Today you found a ticket to a theme park. It seems relatively normal, except that it reads: Lifetime Parkhopper Pass to Progress City. ”The Most Magical Pocket Dimension in the Multiverse!” This is not a theme park you have ever heard of, if you live in a world where theme parks are of the norm.

For some reason you’re drawn to the ticket. There’s something… magical in this piece of paper, and you can practically hear it calling out to you, and you feel compelled to pick it up. It’s strange, but it’s a piece of paper, what’s the worst that could happen?

However, the moment you pick it up, you feel yourself being pulled. There is nothing pulling you but there is an overwhelming sensation that something is pulling you by the chest into the ground. You don’t have time to process what’s going on before you suddenly fall over, the strange feeling going away the moment you hit the ground.

It takes a few moments for you to regain your bearings, but as you look up you are suddenly hit with the fact that, wherever you were before, you certainly aren’t there anymore. It appears to be a transport station of some sort, and a very sleek and new one at that. Monorails pass by the station every couple of minutes, with small, slower moving vehicles consistently move in and out of the center.

The innermost wall, right behind where you stand, is lined with portals. It appears that you came in through this portal, but if you try to go back the way you came in, you’ll find that you are unable to enter it, no matter how hard you try.

While the realization that you are now trapped in this strange place, you will soon find that you also have a strange band strapped to your dominant wrist. No matter how hard you try to take it off, it seems like it’s stuck on there.

At least you’re not alone, along with a bunch of other people who arrived around the same time you did, there are humanoid people who seemed to be intrigued by your arrival. They’re all generally nice, but get confused if you ask them why you’re here and why you can’t leave. They will, however, happily tell you the name of the place you’re in if you ask:

Progress City.]

Comments

[marryapanther]

1

[Bagheera has seen better days.

He didn't think much of the ticket at the time- just some little trinket of man's invention, probably dropped by accident during a trek through the jungle. He'd picked it up carefully in his mouth, intending to bring it to Mowgli- the boy adored manmade objects, collected them like a little bird- and then-

And then-

No matter how dignified and intelligent they are, if you abruptly shove a wild leopard with a healthy distrust of humans into a crowd of them, with no explanation or even a moment to breathe, the reaction is going to be bad.

Bagheera has enough self control to not hurt anyone [unless you give him a reason to], but he's a snarling mass of fury in the middle of the street, his fangs bared and ears back, his fur bristling with panic. He's fully convinced that this is some sort of new man trap and that he's about to be slaughtered, and hasn't even noticed the band on his paw.

Good luck dealing with that.]

2

[Once that situation's dealt with, and Bagheera's had time to think, calm down, and apologize, he begins exploring the general area in earnest. At the moment, he seems fascinated by the technology on display.]

Excuse me? Would you happen to know what this thing does?

[It's... a street lamp. And if you decide to answer him, you get the feeling he has a lot more questions of a similar vein to ask.]

2

[derring_do]

[It's a good thing Della loves answering questions, then! Also, admittedly, she's interested in the whole talking cat thing (he's not standing on two legs or wearing clothes, okay, it's weird).]

Uh... you mean the street lamps? It's just a light! You know, to make the streets easier to see at night.

[marryapanther]

Interesting... and certainly helpful for those who can't see in the dark like myself. But how is it that the red flower stays trapped upon this stick? How does it not die out or spread?

[derring_do]

Red-- um, nope, there's no flowers involved, just electricity.

[She spends a while just staring at the street lamp, trying desperately to figure out what the fuck that question even means.]

...Sorry, what're you... asking...?

[marryapanther]

[Bagheera pauses, thinking it over. At last, a word comes to mind.]

Fire. That's the other word for it, fire. I know man uses it, and uses it to see at night, so I take it this... "lamp" is powered by fire, as well. I was asking how it does not spread and burn the whole area.

[You took on the task of explaining electricity to a panther from a jungle in the late 1800s, you did this to yourself.]

[derring_do]

Oh. Oh! Fire! Got it, that makes sense. [Sort of. She guesses she can see how it would look like a flower.] No, electricity is something different. It's not going to burn anything.

...Well, unless you touch it after it's been on for a while. But you don't have to worry about that with street lamps.

[marryapanther]

Oh? So then, what is electricity? How does it work? And how did man come to learn how to use it?

[derring_do]

[This may have been a mistake.]

It's, you know, an electric current. Think like... lightning? Y'know how that's bright? It's like that, but smaller. [Not exactly a great explanation, or very accurate, but she's not really sure what else he would know that she could list as an example.]

It works in different ways with different kinds of lights. And that's a really long story! It'd probably be boring to explain all of it.

1

[greatwidesomewhere]

[Oh.

As if this whole thing weren't frightening enough, that's...that's a panther. Belle's read about them in books, of course, but seeing one up-close, and angry, is a whole other thing. She gasps, holding one hand up to her mouth, and then approaches...still keeping her distance, of course, but she crouches down a little, holds out both hands.]

Hey....hey. It's okay, it's...nobody's going to hurt you, I don't think.

Re: 1

[marryapanther]

[Bagheera bristles at her approach, but doesn't lunge. You can hear a faint growl in his chest, but it stops abruptly when Belle speaks to him. He's... expecting yelling and pain, not soft voices and kind words. It's enough to shock him out of his panic, long enough for him to speak.] Where am I? Why am I here? And who did this to me? [His voice is harsh and indignant, and his teeth are still bared as he speaks, but he seems a little more capable of rational thought, now.]

[greatwidesomewhere]

[Okay. Talking panther. This is nothing new in Belle's life, but she doesn't quite expect it just yet.

She chews her lip for a moment, trying to think of the best way to phrase this, to try and keep him...as calm as she can.]

I'm not sure about the why, but it seems we've all been brought here by those pieces of paper, somehow. They say this place is called...'Progress City.' I admit, I'm just as confused as you are.

[marryapanther]

Progress...

[Bagheera tilts his head a little. He hadn't been able to read the words on the paper- he had learned to read a few basic letters and words over the course of many years, but none of them were English. Bagheera hadn't even been sure that the ticket was related to his capture until now.

One would think that the knowledge that he's not the only one unexpectedly whisked away to this place would scare him more, but it has the opposite effect. There's a difference between one cat being captured by a crowd of man, and a crowd of humans and animals all being captured by an unknown force. His own panic can wait- there's more important matters at stake than the life of a single panther.

Bagheera's fur has settled flat against his back again, and he sounds much calmer when he speaks again.]

It seems this is more dire than I thought. ...Thank you. I apologize for causing you undue worry. Especially if it is as you say, and we are fellow captives in this place.

[greatwidesomewhere]

[Belle watches keenly as the panther seems to mull over her answer; her posture relaxes and she straightens up, hands dropped to her sides, and his apology earns him a little smile.]

That's alright. I can hardly blame you for being frightened; I confess I'm feeling much the same. Do you...have a name?

[marryapanther]

I understand- still, I should have had more control over myself. I am Bagheera. And you are?

[greatwidesomewhere]

No harm done.

[thank god]

Bagheera. I'm Belle.

[She curtseys.]

It's very nice to meet you, even if the circumstances could be better.

2

[seasonthree]

Oh goody! Another talking animal! How do you do that anyway? Are you shapeshifters perhaps? Anyway, I haven't a clue what any of this does. Seems like witchcraft to me!

[marryapanther]

Shapeshifting? No, no, I was born the way that I am. I suppose I'm glad to not be the only one bemused by these... things.

2

[beakie]

Meep?

[He peers at the street lamp, then back at the panther. Talking animals aren't an unfamiliar sight amongst the Muppets--he can't quite place it, but this particular panther looks...odd.]

Ooh, meep meemiimeep meemoomeep meemii. Meep meemiimeep meemoo meep meemiimeep meep meemii meep moo, meep?

[It's a light--keeps things illuminated while it's dark out. Don't want people tripping over random objects and hurting themselves in the dark, right?]

[marryapanther]

[What's this... weird bird doing here and why can't it speak the animal language. Ah well. Weirder things've happened today. Bagheera's pretty good at guessing what others have to say based on context- he spent several years studying human body language. He couldn't understand their words at the time, but he could figure out enough to know the gist of what they were saying. He watches Beaker's gestures intently.] So these things have to do with... light and darkness, yes? Am I on the right track? [He's missing some nuance, but honestly, it's pretty good for a first try at understanding Meepspeak.]

[beakie]

Meep!

[Beaker nods aggressively--which, in terms of Muppet anatomy, is just him bobbing his head up and down. At least Bagheera is making an effort to understand him?]

Meemiimeep meemoo meep...meep meemii meep meemii meep meemoo.

[The lamps remain illuminated until...well, someone turns them off. He mimes turning a switch on and off, which Bagheera probably hasn't encountered before.]

Moo mii moomeemii?

[Does he understand?]

[marryapanther]

[He.... Kind of does? He's never seen a light switch before, but he can grasp the idea of "on and off".] So, they're activated in the night and snuffed out in the morning? Quite innovative. [While Bagheera wants to ask more questions, he's aware that Beaker may not be the best person to explain the things in the area. So he settles for the next best line of inquiry-] Who are you, may I ask? And... forgive me if this is rude, but what species are you? You don't look like any animal or human I've ever encountered.

[beakie]

[Shame. He was perfectly content to explain everything about street lights ever when--]

Mee?

[Beaker points to himself, visibly befuddled by the question. Is it not obvious?]

Mii Beaker. Mii meep Meeppet. Meemii meep meemoo meep meemii?

[Has he not seen the Muppet Show before? Almost all talking animals are a part, or at least have seen the Muppets before.]

[marryapanther]

[ Quite an artful dodging of the question, everett, if I do say so myself]

A "Meeppet"? Never heard of that species before, but of course, the jungle isn't home to everything. I know there's plenty of animals in the world I've never had the chance to meet.

[The knowledge that Beaker isn't a human is more than a little relieving for Bagheera- he's still much more comfortable talking with fellow animals.]

I am Bagheera. Good to meet you, ah- Beaker, was it?

1

[kindaruledatit]

[Well, there's at least one girl that isn't afraid of the panicking panther. Rather, Wendy looks completely unfazed by him. Happy, even to see him snarling and barring his fangs.

Okay maybe not that last part, which is why she's got her hands up.]

Whoa, whoa. Easy there. Not gonna hurt you, guy. Or... girl, whichever, or whatever.

[marryapanther]

[Bagheera snarls a bit, still hunched on the ground and baring his teeth. The fact that he hasn't been attacked yet is only a small relief. He hardly registers her words, but he's not attacking, either. Bagheera can at least recognize the "hands up" gesture that humans make as an attempt to placate. But just because she won't hurt him, doesn't mean the others won't, and he looks around wildly at the crowd.]