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

[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?

[beakie]

[uwu]

No, no, Meepet. M...Muppet. Meemii meep meemoo meep meemiimeep meemiimeep.

[He seems to struggle a great deal with the 'u' sound, but he manages to spit it out eventually. It's not so much an animal or a species as it is a sort of job. For God's sake, he had to explain this Pinocchio back in Nautilus, too. Why couldn't people leave this question alone?]

Ba...gheera. Beaker! [He says, affirming Bagheera's question.] Meemii meep meemoo miimeemeep. Meemiimeep meemoo meep meemii meep meep? [Beaker's a scientist. What kind of work does Bagheera do? Obviously, all talking animals have jobs.]

[marryapanther]

[Bagheera's not entirely sure what he did wrong, but he can tell the little bird-thing is exasperated. He decides not to push the issue of species.] Alright, "Muppet," then. I'll remember that. [He watches Beaker closely. Even if he understood all of Beaker's words, he wouldn't have a single clue what a scientist was. But he does catch onto the gist of what Beaker's asking... Something about what he does for a living.] I am a mentor and protector for the wolf cubs of the Seeonee wolf pack, in the Indian Jungle. Which is... decidedly far from here.

[beakie]

[Oh. Oh jeez. This talking panther seems to be a lot closer to his wild counterpart than regular talking animals. Strange, but everyone has different lifestyles, right?]

Meemiimee? Meep meemoo meep meemiimeep.

[India? That...yeah, that's definitely very far away.

Beaker peers around at his surroundings. If he didn't know better, he would guess that this is Disney World. But, for some reason, it feels a little...off. So, instead, he turns his attention back to Bagheera's statement.]

Mii meep meemoo meemiimeep meep meep Meemiimoo?

[Do wolves normally allow panthers near their children?]

[marryapanther]

[It's getting easier for Bagheera to figure out what Beaker is trying to say, especially if he sticks with trying to meep words Bagheera can recognize. Won't be long now before he's fluent in Meepspeak! :D]

Not necessarily, but I've known the pack all my life, and I was the one to bring the man-cub Mowgli to them. So, they accepted me as well, as a sort of honorary member of their pack and council. Of course, I remain an outsider, but while training Mowgli I will often work with their wolf-pups. In return, they care for the boy as their own.

[beakie]

[Hooray for Bagheera! Perhaps, one day, he'll become a Beaker, himself.

Man-cub? What a weird way to refer to a person. But maybe that's just the way panthers are.]

Hmm. Meep meemii meep meemoo meep meemiimeep meemoo meep! Meep, meemiimeep meemoo meep meemii--meep meemiimeep meemoo meep mii.

[Reminds him a little of his own weird and multi-species family! Well, they were his coworkers, technically--but he had spent so much time with them, he couldn't imagine them as anything else, really. Though, as far as he knows, there aren't any panthers in the Muppets.]

[marryapanther]

[damnit everett we've already hit the character cap for beakers i cant make bagheera into one too]

Yes, I suppose it is a little unorthodox, and there are certainly plenty in the jungle who don't understand it. Or refuse to understand it. But Mowgli is ours, and he belongs as much as any animal in the jungle.

[The whole incident with Shere Khan taught him that much.]

[beakie]

[Make! Bagheera! A! Beaker!]

Hmmm. Meemii meep meemoo, meep meemiimeep meemoo meep meemii meep meep. Meep, meemii meep meemoo meep meemiimeep meemoo meep mii moo meep.

[Beaker shrugs, gesturing vaguely with his hand. Even if his family is unusual, that doesn't mean that it isn't unique in its own way. Why, his boss is a frog and probably the only one he'd trust to run everything smoothly. and remember to pay him every few months]

[marryapanther]

A frog, eh? Can't say I've ever known any frogs with leadership qualities, but then, I've never met one of you before. But yes, I daresay our little family is unique. A pack of wolves and their human child, and the boy's panther and bear fathers.

[beakie]

Meemoo meep meemeep meep meep, meemii!

[Wolves and panthers and bears, oh my!

...Wait. Do panthers know what the Wizard of Oz is? Whatever. Beaker shrugs, peering around.]

Meep, meemiimeep meemoo meep meemii, meemoo? Meep meemii meep meemoo meep meemii meep.

[Well, if he does see any other Muppets, will he let Beaker know? He's been away from home for a long time, and he really does miss them a lot.]

[marryapanther]

[Bagheera doesn't know what the Wizard of Oz is and just assumes Beaker's very enthusiastic about his family dynamic.] I'll keep an eye out, certainly. Do the rest of them look like you?

[beakie]

Hmmm. Meep....meemii meep meemoo meep meemii meep meemoo. Meep...meemii meep meemoo? Meep meemii meep, meep meemiimeep Muppet.

[Well, uh...not, not really. They all sort of look drastically different? But if anything weird is going on, like chickens tap dancing or whatevers being shot out of cannons, then they're definitely a Muppet. And also, if Bagheera just asks if they're a Muppet.

...He doesn't know if that helps or confuses things more.]

[marryapanther]

[... There's a lot Bagheera could say to that. In fact, there's a lot Bagheera should say about that. Instead, he settles for-] What's a cannon?

[beakie]

[Beaker looks at Bagheera with a quizzical expression on his face--well, more quizzical than usual. How is he supposed to explain this to someone who didn't know what a lamppost is?]

Meep meemii meep meemoo...meep mii meemoo meemiimeep meep miimeep meep meemoo meep? Meep meemiimoo meep meemoomii miimeep meep moo meep miimeep.

[It's sort of like...taking a big metal tube and sticking a metal ball inside of it? Then setting off an explosion inside the tube and then sending the metal ball flying at whatever you aim it at. It's a weapon used by people.

Though, all things considered, Gonzo probably causes more harm to himself than other people when he stuffs himself into a cannon.]

[marryapanther]

... Why would anyone ever want to do that?

[He sounds genuinely curious.]

[beakie]

Meemii meep meemoomeep meemii meep meemoo? Meep meemiimeep meemoo meep meemiimeep meep. Meemiimoo, meep meemiimoo meep meemii meep meemoo moo miimeep mii meep.

[Beaker shrugs. To try and hurt as many people as possible without getting hurt? Honestly, he doesn't know (or care) that much about warfare to think about this stuff. He's mostly concerned about what sort of crazy schemes his friend, Gonzo, might come up with.]