They've only Got One Another: A Muppet Christmas Story

>eats chocolate chip happily<

Truer words were never spoken. That is the understatement of the century. She's the reason I ever joined MC, took my fandom to a new level. And yet, I still wait on Robin to recover from that coma....

<Flush!> I am the reason! Oh, I am honored to hear that. You have no idea. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<HUGS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> for that! And I am SO glad you joined, and that you're writing, and YAY! Oh that made my day.

And... Robin. Yes. I'll take care of that one, really I will, sometime after I finish this little Christmas fic I've started. And in between updates of Heart of Gold. Or at least, that's the plan.

YAY! Oh, I'm so proud.

In a perfect world-- So...does she like the new chapter (s)? Unspeakably disappointed? Too flattered to point out the flaws? I'm dying here! But take your time, oh wise one....

(P.S. I love that Christmas story of yours! I didn't know there was more!)

Alright. I haven't done one of these in a while...

Starting with chapter one:

It's in the singing of a street-corner choir...

<Snicker!> I love that mix-up. And yet, in a way... Robin wasn't far off!

And, since you did request constructive criticism... "Hypothermia," piped up Robin. is easier and less jarring to read than "Hypothermia." Piped up Robin. To put it all grammatically, consider the dialogue in quotation marks to be a subordinating clause of the sentence: "Blah blah something-or-other yadda yadda," said So-and-so. (For example.)

Goodness, what DOESN'T that boy's uncle own? Ah, that does sound like Scooter, though.

And, on the constructive criticism side... starting a new paragraph when a new person starts talking is incredibly helpful to your reader for keeping track of who is and is not speaking. I know you've been having formatting troubles, but if you could please make a priority of that, I would very much appreciate it.

Mock-Swedish Translator, na ja? I remember when I used to use that. Forget how I got out of the habit... It's alright as a starting point, but it's ultimately too intelligible to be accurate for Chef. My advice is to trust yourself. You've got a decent grasp on how the other Muppets talk; you can probably do better for Chef than a computerized generator. Don't start from a real English sentence--just get a general idea of what you want Chef to say, let a few key words be somewhat recognizable, and use "shmur de hur"-like gibberish for the rest. Just a tip. <pats We Got Us on the back>

In other news... I love the detail that they have to buy new ornaments every year. I presume they keep getting broken/eaten/blown up/destroyed in all ways imaginable and some unimaginable? Excellent.

Have I mentioned that I love your descriptions? Because I love your descriptions.

And the whole scene between Kermit and Piggy... Kermit all squirmy and blushy, and all the togetherness talk... It makes me very happy.

Now, Chapter Two!

Uh-huh. Uh-huh, Scooter. Big number. That's ALL you're thinking about. Uh-huh. Totally. Yup. NO other motives WHAT so ever... Uh-huh. <snicker>

Kudos to you. First time I read this, I liked it very much as just general absent-mindedness. You know, an odd thought, "Oh, I should double-check that later..." And a nice detail, at that. But it was totally foreshadowing!

And then the landlady... <Gulp!> Ah, geez. I know she needs to make money, too, but... Sheesh.

I love this. I love the details here, and the tension, and how you show us how everyone is hurting.

<Whimper!> Gah! Pain! <Whimper!> (Well done, young grasshopper. )

<Whimper!!!> Oh, gosh, I LOVE your descriptions... This paragraph says SO much. Just a collection of details, but isn't it amazing how much you can tell with that collection of details? The pain, the sadness, the loss of hope... And yet, the fact that the cold is outside of the house, and not inside. SO well done. Gosh I love it. This paragraph is an excellent example of why I love to write, and why I'm guessing you do, too.

So similar to and different from the scene of Kermit taking in the morning! I'd guess that evening was colder than the morning in more ways than one...

LOVE!

And I ALSO love the Kermit/Fozzie interaction. SO much. Very nicely done.

Chapter Three! No more boldface! Congratulations! Ah, and this Henry fellow seems to be love-struck. How adorable.

<snicker>

Love all the dialogue you have of Muppets determining sleeping arrangements. And then this...

Oh, wise. Quite wise indeed. LOVE. On so many levels.

Ah-ha! I have found a solution to the freezing theater problem! ...Or at least, Henry has. <Snicker>

Chapter Four! YAAAY!

I LOVE the conversation between Robin and Alice. (You may notice that I tend to love just about anything involving Robin... <cough>) Him insisting that she's one of them... Her hoping that she IS one of them... That last sentence at the end of the scene, showing hints of loneliness. Very nice. (And it involves Robin. <cough> <ahem> Yes. I'm totally unbiased here. Yup.)

Kermit waking up in the middle of the night, looking at all his friends... Excellent. I can certainly sympathize with insomnia... And I love him picturing Miss Piggy sleeping. And then the CONVERSATION WITH UNCLE DEADLY! Oh, it is SO good. SO very good. Kermit reflecting, thinking about Jim... And then THIS.

Two major things here. One: noisy, irrelevant and trespassing, but good. I love Uncle Deadly's opinion of the Muppets. Two: "The only way you could disappoint them would be to give up the job." That is SO true, and SO important for just about any sort of leader to remember.

Bottom line? This is really, really great stuff, and I can't wait to read more! So, MORE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oooohhh wow. If my head doesn't explode, something around here better in a minute. Reading other people's quote-reviews or whatever you call those and nodding and smiling and chuckling and going 'Oh yeah, that was really good.' is something I've done so often, reading what you just wrote, I had to keep taking a deep breath and remembering it was actually my fic!! SO glad you liked it all! Wish I could go through each one of your honorable mentions and just pour out thank-yous! First thing I didn't think I would be able to do well, that made me go light-headed with relief when you praised, was Henry and Alice. I'm such a terrible romance writer, but in honor of dear Figgie I vowed to try, and now I've sort of found a way to weave them into the story. Second: You noticed Robin! Of course you would! I know you love Robin: (I'm the same way about Scooter...except maybe a little creepier cause' I'm his age...and, nevermind ) I never, ever thought you would read this, but inspired by you as I was I couldn't resist using the little frogling as my precursor to scenes of emotion that would otherwise be a little hard to establish...like a certain somebody I admire does... (And he's just so adorable, isn't he? That Jerry Nelson voice...) Third: She likes the details! I thought I went a little overboard with them. But with the Muppets, because they have such distinct personalities and trademarks, it's easy to sum up their careers and trials and personalities with a prop. When someone says 'Rubber Chicken', who doesn't think Fozzie dying on a stage? (not literally!) And your criticism is well-taken. I'll make a concerted effort to try and start a different paragraph. If I know what your talking about (and I may not) I have been attempting that in the past and failing at times because of the spiteful forum editing system and my own incompetence with openoffice. If I have the same problem next chapter: it means I completely misunderstood what you meant and you may feel free to whack me over the head with something. Meanwhile, I'm off to dance for joy in the cold, and then to write more. Inspiration, inspiration, inspiration!

P.S. Figgie?! Where have you gone?! Come dance with me!!

Chapter 4 was very heart-warming.

You definitely have a knack for writing for the Muppets, you capture their characters very well. Great job, anxious to read more, and hopefully write some more myself someday

Why didn't my computer recieve this?!!! Wigitus!!! I love you forever!! You even have the Count reviewing, Which is amazing btw, and Jim's passing, Uncle Deadly, Oh!! And how did you know I was a clutz too? Any hoo, I've missed you and I can't wait to read more on Thursday!! Love you Sweetie!!!

Klutz, klutz, who's a klutz? Certainly not my Figgie! Have fun on your business trip! I'll miss you a TON, but it's good to know you didn't drop off the face of the earth. Bon voyage!

Well, WGU, with a little recommendation from my good friend Lisa, you managed to get me to do something that I very rarely do these days: Read fanfiction.

And, you know what? I just LOVED it. You hit the ball out of the park with pretty much every line of dialogue which can be totally read in the correct voices. I even read UD's voice as Matt Vogel! You rarely see Uncle Deadly used this well in stories! (I have a soft spot for him as he was a main character in the Alternate Universe fanfic series I worked on for a while). His brief appearance here as Kermit's guide was perfection on a stick.

> Jumps at Lisa, kisses her< THANK YOU!! I have a soft spot for Uncle D. too, since seeing how he shined in 'The Muppets' and reading some fan-fics that explored his character in depth, I wanted to experiment with him and I'm glad it turned out well. I'm always worried when I try a character I'm not familiar with (or that I admire or love beyond what's healthy, like Rowlf) that I won't do a good job with them, so that made my day (yet again). I haven't written chapter five, so it may be a little while in the coming...you know these busy 'week before Christmas' days....but I'll try my best, promise!

P.S. My little sister wants me to tell you that she loves your avatar, being a huge Beau fan.

Alright, Mini-Me, you know that Robin is my favorite, but did you know that Rowlf is in my number two spot? Dear goodness, girl, are you TRYING to be me, or is it just happening by accident? Because it's starting to freak me out!

In other news, I have to say, shame on J.P. Grosse for not wanting to fix the heat in the theater. Doesn't he know that if the theater's cold, no one will want to come to any shows, and the Muppets won't make any money and therefore won't be able to pay him? And besides that, if the pipes freeze, it's only going to get more expensive for him... (But if it's important to you that the theater be very cold, please do keep it that way. Story trumps reality. Or at least, that's what I tell myself when I flaunt my blatant military ignorance over in Heart of Gold...)

She makes me happy--
Each time she comments--
And...
Nevermind, I'll stop destroying beautiful songs now. I did not know that, I only knew that 'Say Cheese' brought me to tears and that you had an awesome grasp of the character. (As if she didn't have an amazing grasp of all the characters. Ha. ) So with me it's Scooter and Rowlf competing and/or sharing the position of favorite, and dear Fozzie somewhere second with a million other Muppets pushing there way up there in no solid order. It's as a group that I love them so much anyway! Yes, I get what your saying about J.P., the way it played out in my head he would still be under the impression that he would make more money from a scrap-heap then the Muppet show, and is just waiting for them to vacate/go bankrupt. You have something with the pipes there though. Anyway, the go-fer's uncle should figure in a later chapter. And about that Heart of Gold....??

I disagree that this is unrealistic, as he comes from the same generation as the owner of the hotel where I work, and he wouldn't fix anything to save his life -- despite the fact that we insist that no customers will come if its not fixed. The amount of time and money he'd actually SAVE by fixing things ahead of time, but he does not do so until the very last possible moment...well, it seems very realistic indeed.

Also, maybe that explains why the Muppets still struggle to get an audience when they are so AWESOME.

Oh, I believe his reluctance to fix things... to a degree, anyway. After all, my college apartment had a furnace that was older than my parents, and although it would've saved the landlord considerable amounts of money to just install a new one, they insisted on having the poor maintenance guys come and keep replacing random parts until it worked. Which is why I had to call maintenance to re-light the pilot light every time I wanted to turn the heat on. Such a pain...

But, as We Got Us pointed out, J.P. thinks the whole theater should be a scrapyard, anyway. Why bother fixing it? Then he'd have to fix everything else, too!

THE MUPPETS SPOILER ALERT:

Like that hole in the ceiling (Yes, I've read enough The Muppets spoilers to know about that.)

NOT A MUPPETS SPOILER:

Or that light Clifford keeps working on in every single fanfic.

ALSO NOT A SPOILER OF ANY KIND:

I totally love you guys. Just sayin'.

MUPPET SHOW RUNNING GAG INVOLVING TELEPHONES SPOILER

Or that telephone that Animal ripped off the wall to end a running gag.

Edit: Has been Ziffled! Been a while since anyone ziffled this Beau, it has to be said.
Edit 2: Also, do tell that sister of yours that Beauregard is truly awesome, which is why I love him so.

THE PIG EPISODE SPOILER

Or the hole Gonzo put in the wall with the spoon...

THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER SPOILER

Or that lightbulb that keeps falling out (What? Who says that JP doesn't own property in the United Kingdom).