TMS fic: Growing Together

The Count

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Oooh, new Slackbot fic? Yes please.

Hmm, Gonzo's changing roles from Dearth Nader to the Iron Weirdo? That reminds me, who would be a good fit for Hawkeye in a Muppet parody of the Avengers? And yes, it's been stuck in my mind since that Captain Samerica Eagle poster last summer.

:sing: And so I took your name out of my roll-a-dex.
And I tore all your pictures in two...
And I burnt down the malt shop where we used to go.
All because it reminds me of you.

You mean you can tell those jughuggers apart?

Good start, waits for more.
*Leaves PB 7 cookies for Kim. :smile:
 

Katzi428

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Great so far!! But snickering boy is Miss Piggy going to be mad when she hears that so called "love song" "One More Minute" !
I'm surprised Weird Al was never on "Muppets Tonight"
 

Slackbot

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The Count: Actually, he's the Bronze Weirdo. We better hope he finds a way to get that stuff off his nose, otherwise he's gonna have to paint it blue between shows, and by the end of the third one he's gonna look like his Muppet Babies self.

As for the Avengers, search me. I don't read superhero comics. And as for the Jughuggers, The Muppet Wiki helped a lot.

Katzi428: Why yes, it is safe to assume that Miss Piggy will be startled when she hears the lyrics to that song. The question is, when will she hear them, how will she react, and does Weird Al have good health insurance?

I consider it a disgrace and an injustice and other bad things that Weird Al has never been on any Muppet show. Hopefully one of these days that will be corrected.
 

The Count

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Hmm... While Weird Al never appeared in person on any Muppet show, there is an interview conducted between him and Fozzie in an issue of Muppet Magazine. I know of this because said article was included in the hardcover book Muppets! Muppets! Muppets!, The Best of Muppet Magazine.
Also... It's possible they were referencing/parodying his grandfather with the character Frankie Yakovic (a Muppet yak) and his Polka Dots on Muppets Tonight.

Hope this helps.
*Wonders what that bet Gonzo lost to Sam was about.
 

Slackbot

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I have the magazine with that interview. I looked at the hardback, but I didn't get it, becayse I didn't feel like taking out a second mortgage.

Frankie Yakovic was a reference to Frankie "America's Polka King" Yankovic, a Grammy-winning accordion player. He wasn't related to Weird Al, but his parents did give Al Accordion lessons because, so Al says, they believe there ought to be more than one accordion-playing Yankovic.

I have no idea what Gonzo and Sam were betting on. Anyone else have any ideas?
 

The Count

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Huh, I thought Frankie was related to Weird Al, you learn something new.

I actually got the hardback book in the early 80's from my parents as a gift, back when I had good sight, it's in my Muppet books section.

Maybe Sam decided to pick against Gonzo along with the football games in the Stone Cold Lead Pipe Locks bit the weirdo and the frog taped with Mike and Mike on ESPN a couple of weeks ago?
I'm amused that bits with them, and new ones with the hecklers, keep popping up in this two week span.
 

newsmanfan

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Brava! An entertaining start! Yes, THAT particular Weird Al song is indeed a marvelous choice...and hey, that Al is pretty fit still, perhaps he could bound out of the way of a karate chop AND keep singing!

Nice use of small descriptives in this -- Piggy gazing smokily at Kermit and sweeping into the room are both nicely evocative. But...could I humbly ask for more? I really like it when ALL my senses get drawn into a piece. And I've always wondered how Gonzo perceives the world...his senses MUST be a little awry from our norm. Embellish more please! :smile:

Poor Fozzie. Does Kermit really bring a cinderblock to mind when thinking of the comic talent of his star bear? Owch. Though I could easily see Fozzie and Al doing something together... OR Al and Gonzo! "Dare to Be Stupid!"

I really like the concept of Fraggles being so musically gifted that Janken can learn any instrument within a few bars. Now THAT'S a gift. :sing:

Happily awaiting more!
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Ruahnna

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Lots to like in this--Gonzo's act, Camilla's approval, jug-band players and Sam the Eagle gambling (the scoundrel). I agree that jug music and other old-fashioned music, like bluegrass and such, are often overlooked by young folks. Jim was a master at appreciating ALL sorts of music--and ALL sorts of talent, so I felt a somewhat Jim-like spirit in that part of it.

I did not like the way Piggy is being set up--not just by Al but by her paramour and Scooter and everyone else who works with her, but I've had over ten long years of enduring rude jokes at Piggy's expense so I suppose I'll survive. And somebody must like that sort of thing. Same thing I guess with Kermit being the one to think mean thoughts about Fozzie's act--I know he's not always funny, but he's usually entertaining.

To end on a positive note, however, Gonzo's nose-plating was very well-researched. The little weirdo is nothing if not thorough. And I wonder if Billie will attempt to take after her papa in show-business, or become a sexy showgirl chicken like her mom....
 

Slackbot

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Newsmanfan: I understand what you're saying. I like it when writers really show you the scene, add in the details that make it real rather than just outlining it and calling it a day. I try to do that because it feels more authentic. Sometimes I have to rein it in because too many details can detract from the focus of a scene. When you have a lunch conversation, does it really matter that someone's BLT has too much mayo? (If it's important to the character, it's worth mentioning.) Thanks for the feedback on that. BTW, I have anosmia, so don't expect a lot of information concerning odors. :wink:

Regarding how Gonzo sees the world, there's a sequence in Muppets from Earth that you might enjoy. It's a double-cannon stunt from Gonzo's point of view.

Re the cinderblock line... yeah, that is way too harsh for Kermit. He doesn't think that way. It was just a placeholder line which I intended to replace with something else that indicated that Kermit silently agreed that Fozzie wasn't as hilarious as Al by a long shot, but he'd never say so to his best friend. When I'm writing first drafts my method of getting past writer's block is "Write it good, write it bad, but WRITE IT, then edit it into shape!" So I put down a bit of wiseASCIIness, intending to rewrite it, and somehow it slipped by me through three revisions. Argh. When I post a re-edited version of this story on fanfiction.net it'll be cinderblock-free.

Music is a sine qua non of Fraggle life. Literally--the one time they stopped singing, creatures that lived on their song began to die out, and since they produce the light in the Fraggle caves, and without light Fraggles fall asleep, it nearly spelled the end of the colony. I figure that they have a special brain lobe for music. For them, if they know a tune they can sing it, and it's easy for them to pick up a simple instrument, find out how to make it make musical sounds, and then play it. A jug would be child's play for Janken, as all he has to deal with is embouchure, attack, and timing. Two of those three come naturally. Embochure may require a little more thought, considering how underneathy his mouth is...

Ruahnna: Glad you like the musical mix. I try to remember that the shows were always eclectic, and I have odd taste in music anyway. And, yes, I did research bronzing and electroplating before writing that part. I'm fussy that way. (One could wish Gonzo had researched how to get the metal off his nose, but then he's never shown an aversion to suffering for his art. ) And Billie... who knows what she'll be like when she grows up? Considering what individualists her extended family are, she'll have plenty of influences and also plenty of support.

Re Piggy, you and I write her quite differently, so I'm sure you'll find plenty to disagree with. That's cool. All I can say is that here is that I have this thread planned out, and it's more than an exercise at taking potshots at Piggy.
 

Ruahnna

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Re Piggy, you and I write her quite differently, so I'm sure you'll find plenty to disagree with. That's cool. All I can say is that here is that I have this thread planned out, and it's more than an exercise at taking potshots at Piggy.
Okay. I'll try to be patient and not grumble. Keep going, keep going....
 
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