Welcome to the 69th Muppet Family Reunion! (Plus Extended Family)

[themuppeteers]

[You received the invitation for the Muppet Family Reunion about a week ago. These reunions have become a routine thing for you and the extended Muppet Family. Whether it be by plane, car, cave tunnel, or magic, you made your way to Emily Bear's house and settled in for the night. Emily Bear was nowhere in sight to greet you, but, surely that's nothing to be worried about.

However, upon waking up, you'll find that a fierce blizzard has descended upon the house overnight--several feet of snow have piled up on the front porch, and, from the looks of it, the snow won't let up anytime soon. Not to mention the fact that Emily is still not here.

Something feels wrong, but you can't quite put your finger on it.

You may notice a small note pinned to the wall where you slept, which reads:]

COME TO LIVING ROOM AT NOON FOR IMPORTANT FAMILY MEETING :)
[Whatever this meeting is about, you have some time to explore the house and chat with the other people gathered here.]

(ooc: Welcome to the Muppet Murder Hour mock trial week! The host NPC will show up around 5 pm est. Until then, feel free to explore the house and interact with everyone else!)

Comments

[muppetlabs]

[He'd fallen asleep pretty quickly the night before, so Bunsen hasn't noticed anything off. It's only when he woke up alone, his beloved assistant was nowhere in sight! He assumed, you know, maybe Beaker was busy with their luggages or somewhere hanging out with the Swedish Chef. So, he's off to find Beaker and maybe strike up a few convos along the way.]

Beaker? Beaker! Where did you go? ...Beakie?

[Upon noticing a passerby in the hallways, Bunsen approaches them with a worried look in his nonexistent eyes.]

Have you seen Beaker around? [He'll elaborate further if the passerby in question isn't familiar with muppet labs.] He's tall, pretty handsome, orange hair and big ol' eyes. He meeps a lot.

[Later on, Bunsen can be found in the kitchen, getting some coffee and scavenging for parts he could use to build the latest muppet lab contraption.]

Wilkins coffee? ...Hm. Hmmmmmmmm. Hard pass.

[its_not_fair]

[Sarah turns to look at the bald little man talking to her]

Meeps? No... I'm afraid I haven't seen anyone like that around here. I can help you look, if you'd like.

[muppetlabs]

O-Oh thank you so much!

[Bunsen takes and shakes her hand in gratitude.]

I haven't seen him since yesterday... What could he be up to?

[its_not_fair]

I'm sure he's around somewhere. It's only a cottage, after all.

[She smiles warmly at him]

I'm Sarah, by the way.

[muppetlabs]

You'd be surprised! There's usually more of us in here and, well...

Anyway I'm Bunsen! Dr. Bunsen Honeydew Ph.D. it's a pleasure to be of acquaintance!

[its_not_fair]

I know... it's a little strange that there aren't more of us here, yet.

It's a pleasure to meet you, Bunsen. Where should we start looking?

[muppetlabs]

Well [He looks at the floor briefly, contemplative.] I've checked the bedrooms and the bathroom. Maybe the kitchen! He might be looking for something to eat.

[its_not_fair]

Alright, then. Let's go downstairs and take a look.

[She nods towards the stairs and starts walking that way.]

I don't think that I've ever seen a doctor at one of these things. What do you do?

[muppetlabs]

I work on Muppet Labs, where the future is being made today. [Clears throat at his force of habit.] Beaker and I create and perform scientific experiments to test various hypothesis. It's plenty fun! [small nods.]

Sometimes it ends up in flames or one of us in hospital, but science waits for no man! All for a good cause.

[In all his talking, they've arrived to the kitchen. However, the missing muppet is still nowhere in sight.]

[its_not_fair]

[Her eyebrows shoot up]

Flames? Hospital? That... doesn't sound like fun.

[no dice... Hmmm... She spins in a circle, looking around the room]

Huh. Well he's not here. We should check the rest of this floor.

[muppetlabs]

It's an occupational workplace hazard, it doesn't last too long I assure you.

[The little man nods confidently while checking potential hiding spots beaker might be in. He's definitely not behind a conveniently shaped lamp.

Nope, the muppet in question is nowhere at all.]

Strange. He usually doesn't go too far. Do you have a companion here, too?

[its_not_fair]

[So strange. Speaking of strange...]

I... wouldn't exactly call him a companion. But I do know someone here.

[muppetlabs]

Oh, who might that be?

[All these decades of muppet reunions and he's...actually pretty introverted enough not to know everyone off the bat.]

kitchen

[tobeginwith]

Wilkins coffee? What are you talking about? This is Wilkins Coffee™.

[muppetlabs]

Oh, is it?

[Adjusts his glasses. Actually, he just lifts his goddamn glasses to look at the package.]

My mistake, it is indeed Wilkins Coffee™. You tried it?

[tobeginwith]

I sure didn't! We need this save this stuff, it's probably going to be important to somebody's character arc throughout the rest of the story.

[muppetlabs]

Character arc? With coffee? I don't know. [Bunsen taps his chin, sounding skeptical.]

Oh dear, I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with literature terms. Will it be used in their scientific experiment?

[tobeginwith]

You'd be surprised. A good writer can make a character arc out of anything.

[not familiar with literature terms??? then perish]

Experiment? I don't know about any experiment. I'm just the author.

kitchen

[willheorwonthekins]

[A weird little frog muppet is sliiiiiding down the counter towards Bunsen. His cold, dead eyes are trained on him, and his smile is false.]

Excuse me? Did I happen to hear you mention you don't like Wilkins Coffee™?

[muppetlabs]

I'm afraid I've never tried it. It kept my poor, dear assistant Beaker up all night!

[Bunsen shakes his head, just. unaware.]

Darn Wilkins Coffee™! [OH NO]

1/?

[willheorwonthekins]

2/?

[willheorwonthekins]

3/?

[willheorwonthekins]

4/4

[willheorwonthekins]

... Huh. Normally by now you woulda been torn asunder by the wrath of God.

I suppose a delayed punishment will still be a punishment.

[He takes the can of coffee and leaves without another word, though he does look back at Bunsen once. Wilkins won't forget this. Wilkins will never forget this.]

[muppetlabs]

[Had Bunsen been a more observant man, he'd be chilled to the bone at how ominous that was.
But he isn't so he just waves at Willkins and grins.]

Okay! Bye-bye now.