tushanshu | 001

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001 - [Video]

[The image displayed is of nothing human. It is, in fact, nothing more than a panda in a pair of darned pants standing straight up as if he knows no other way to stand. He’s obviously in the new “home” he’s been given, and if it’s possible for him to seem even more out of place, he somehow manages it. It’s similar but it’s not, and he’s never seen anything like the kedan before.

He’s entirely out of his element, and if it was ever doubted that a panda could display that much with expression, he’s living, standing, awkward proof that a panda can do just that.]

Uh. [Brief, something that was almost a word but never quite made it. He has no idea about these devices except for what he’s been told, and he still finds it difficult to believe. Others can see him, he can see them, and they can speak that way. How is that possible?] So. Hi. This showing a picture, right? A…a moving one, I guess. I don’t really understand, but that’s what those guys told me, so it probably does, right?

[He’s blathering. This is hardly anything new with him, and he realizes it, and that also shows. He runs a paw over his face, ears popping right back into place when it passes over them.]

Yeah, so, the introduction thing, I guess. I’m, uh, [awkward] Po [still awkward] and I’m from a place called the Valley of Peace, and [little less awkward] I never really thought that when you ascended, it was to another city. Thought of it more like another plane. But that’s okay, because you can’t ascend anything when you’re asleep, but you can apparently get trapped, and that’s pretty, uh. That really sucks. Like. It sucks a lot.

[He’s still obviously out of his element, but he stands up a little straight and stops fidgeting.]

Is there anything that whoever else here can tell me that doesn’t suck?

[Things that suck less are also wanted, and it’s after a close-up of a bear paw that the image disconnects.]

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Not supposed to talk?

[ Steve just looks at him, one eyebrow slowly climbing toward his hairline. ]

But you're talking, aren't you? Seems to me, you're doing exactly what you're supposed to do. Just because something isn't the same in one world as it is in another doesn't mean it's wrong.

[Little hair things over the eyes. It's not unfamiliar, but it's such an odd place to have hair. Why isn't it on their ears?]

Well, yeah. Of course I'm talking. How else am I supposed to communicate?

[...wait. If no one thinks pandas should talk, but they know about pandas, what does that make pandas in their worlds?]

Or anyone? We all have to talk, don't we?

That's my point. People'll get used to a talking panda. You shouldn't feel like you can't be who you are just because some don't know how to handle it.

It just makes me wonder what other pandas are supposed to be like.

[Roaring? Should he be roaring?]

I talk a lot. You don't have to worry about me not doing that. I mean, unless I have to. For stealth or something.

Where I'm from, pandas can't talk. I'm not really sure how they communicate, I've never studied them, but they don't speak in a language humans can understand.

You're the first of your kind I've met that does.

[Pandas don't talk. Then how do they communicate? Roaring doesn't really get a point across, other than the fact that they can be really loud when they want to.

He wants to ask what pandas do around humans if humans can't understand them, but he's not so sure it's a wise decision to go down that road. Maybe later. Not now. Now, he's new and still a little weak. And hungry. And he's talking to a new species!

He's also the last of his, but he won't go there, either.]

I've never bet humans before. There's a first time for everything, right? Does it really matter here, any way? The ones who brought me here...they don't look exactly like you guys, either.

No humans?

[ That's interesting. He wonders if he's an alien or if he comes from a version of Earth in which humans aren't the dominant species. If he was familiar with Planet of the Apes, now would be a good time to make the reference, but he's woefully lacking in pop cultural knowledge. ]

You mean the kedan? The people who met you when you arrived? I think they're the natives of this world. Unlike the rest of us.

No. No humans at all. I've never seen anything that looks like you guys...well, I mean, you kind of look like the kedan, but you all look kind of different.

[Sadly, Planet of the Apes references would be lost on Po. He'd probably say he wouldn't mention it to Monkey. Or a gorilla, because those guys are strong and wouldn't take kindly to it.]

The fur on your head and the fact of the matter that you all seem to know what a panda is but not that we can talk, that's...that's weird. But I'm just blabbing now, aren't I? What's your name?

There are other bears in your world, aren't there? Brown bears, black bears, polar bears, Kodiak bears. Humans are kind of like that. Different color hair, different shapes and sizes, but we're all still human.

[ Except possibly Steve. Half the time, no one really knows if Steve's for real or not. ]

I'm Steve. Steve Rogers. And you're Po, you said? Do you have a last name, Po?

[Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Other bears? What craziness is this?]

I've never seen another bear before, no. Not even another panda. But I've never been out of China, so I'm sure there's more of us out there somewhere, like you're talking about. [The idea of more bears gives him something new to think about, but introductions! Those are important, too.] Oh, right! Yeah, of course. Ping. I got it from my dad.

[Welp.]

[ That gives him a moment's pause. ]

Your dad isn't another panda like you? What is he?

My dad? He's a goose.

[This seems to be causing a lot of problems so far, so he'll try to explain it in the way that makes sense and doesn't let on that there's a bit more behind it.]

He found me in a radish crate as a cub. I mean, technically, my father was a panda, but my dad isn't. He raised me, so he's my dad, does that make sense?

That makes perfect sense to me.

[ Not so much the goose raising a panda part. That's a little strange. But one's family not being one's blood relations? Steve knows all about that. ]

Blood isn't the only thing that makes someone family. It's true for humans too. Not just pandas and geese.

[Steve is a weird name, that much is for certain. But he seems to be a good guy, and not just because he's not telling Po he shouldn't be talking and gets that his dad being a goose isn't the weirdest thing that's ever happened.]

It seems like our worlds all have that common, everyone having had parents and having some sort of family. [Even if Po's actual parents are long gone and he knows that not everyone has a good relationship (or any at all) with family, it seems like it's a constant.] How long have you been here, do you know?

A few weeks. There are people who've been here a lot longer than that.

Anyone tell you about why we're here yet?

[He scratches his chins as though in thought, and when he inclines his head? His ears wiggle, bouncing slightly before popping right back into place.]

I've been told this place is actually a turtle, and that the turtle is sick. The turtle can't talk, though, so he can't tell us why he's sick or what we can do to help. We're supposed to be here to heal it, or something like that. But no one knows how. Is that the basic gist of it?

[ Sounds like someone missed a crucial detail or two. ]

We're here to fight the thing that's making the turtle sick. We don't have a lot of information on it and no one really likes to talk about it, but that's why we're here.

[ He's just going to leave off the part about how they're clones. That's not the kind of thing most people want to hear. ]

[Yeah, he didn't get that memo. Fighting is something he can do. But he's thinking the turtle is sick, does that mean they're fighting some embodiment of, what? A cold? A sick stomach?

Could they just throw healing tea in the water by its head or...]

Oh. So, like, if we're supposed to fight a thing but we don't what the thing is and the turtle can't tell anyone what's up with why he's sick...we're really trapped, aren't we? Like, in every way sort of trapped.

[Steve, this sucks. This is not what he wanted.]

No one's ever trapped anywhere forever.

[ The only problem is that, as clones, they have no homes to return to. Still, they'll cross that bridge when they get to it. ]

Our first priority is healing the turtle. Making sure it and the people who rely on it survive. After that, we'll handle getting out of here.

[Clones would have to be explained to Po. He would have no idea what the word meant, which wouldn't be anything new. But still, if he got the idea planted, that would just be all the more awful things to try and work through later.]

That sounds like a good plan. Help, and then try to find a way out. If we're here to help and we don't, no one comes out the victor.

Exactly.

If you run into any trouble with any of the locals or the foreigners, or you just want some help, don't hesitate to contact me. You can contact my console directly.

[ He gives him directions on how to do this. ]

Or stop by my place, Water District 1D.

[Oh wow! More stuff this console can do! He can play mahjong with someone, he's been told, he can talk to people, now he can talk to them directly! Will the wonders of it never end?

And the confusion, of course.]

Oh hey! I'm in the water place, too. Uh...1A. We could meet up sometime for lunch if you're every hungry!

[Po's goal aside from healing the turtle is, apparently, to feed everyone. Because these humans look to be in need of a meal or two.]

Sure, Po.

[ Some might think it odd to eat dinner with a talking panda. Some people aren't Steve Rogers. ]

I'd like that.

[As weird as it might be for a human, Po would like to think they'd change that tune once they got a taste of his cooking. He knew the secret ingredient to the family recipe now, after all. He couldn't go wrong...unless someone really didn't like Chinese.]

Awesome. Give me, like, three or four days. Or...maybe more, I'd love to feed everyone. Seriously. Once I can get all the ingredients I need, anyone who's hungry can come over. So look out for the steam coming through the windows, okay?

Okay. I'll do that. And if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask.

(no subject)

kungfood - 2013-07-08 14:00 (UTC) - Expand

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