Accident on Monday

WebMistressGina

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
913
Reaction score
655
Things to point out...

"taping the beige Muppet on the shoulder."
What, Scoot put some sticky gauze on the restaurant patron's upper arm joint?

"While Kermit had wanted to keep close tabs on his favorite best friend bear, he had other engagements to attend to, such as how to handle a Muppet Show with their featured comic."
Er, shouldn't that be "without" their featured comic?
Blarg and double blarg!

Boppity Bopp post: 1065786 said:
Am happy with the alternate Amanda making an appearance as a follow-up to the Murder Over my Muppet production.

Equally happy with the addition of Penny, she seems to already know how to approach Fozzie's situation. Hope this turns out better than The Great Beartender.
Yeah, it came to me that, this wasn't just a run off date, cause they like each other and I did make a big deal on how happy they both were finally being together.

Oh yes, this is gonna be much more positive than Beartender.

Boingy! post: 1065786 said:
C'mon peeps, let's bounce back to tell the frog about the dirty rag.
* Walks away, bouncing :cluck: against the sidewalk thanks to the spring in her step. Boingy boingy boingy boingy...
Again, you reads minds. That is slated as part of the next chapter.

:embarrassed: What's next? Is it good?

Of course! Well, sorta. As the Counter with the Mostest has pointed out, we've got an errant untrue story circling that the Muppet Mafia's gonna have to figure out. And you know, I think we'll learn a little more about Penny. *nods* yeah, why not?

I would also like to point out that no, I have not forgotten Wedding Day Blues. I am going to update that, at some point. Some time.
 

Misskermie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2011
Messages
6,690
Reaction score
1,488
Wow!
That chapter! :big_grin:


I see that scumbag wrote that paper.

However, I was very at ease because of that sweet couple.
The Page and his girl. :3


And I see Fozzie getting his flirt on there. :stick_out_tongue:
I think it's very adorable.
...
...
...
...
Yes. I did take that well. Sheesh.
I can always pretend I'm Penny. :stick_out_tongue:


My jealousy aside,
That was a great chapter!
More please!
 

WebMistressGina

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
913
Reaction score
655
Happy Sunday, Mupps! So in case you may have missed it in 4 Ball, I start training for a new job tomorrow and I'll be tied up - hopefully - during the morning for quite some time. Fingers crossed, everyone!

So because I'll be working, I think I'll move Mondays to Sundays for the time being. And believe me, I have a bunch of Mondays (series) to work through. I'll tell you more at the end, but for now, here's the next chap!

There's some stuff from the previous stories and 2011 movie, so if you haven't caught, do so now me hearties!




V.


DIVINE MISS P: Where are you?

ANDY WESTSIDE: Office Row.

Piggy remained calm as she left the hospital, not giving anything away in terms of just how annoyed she clearly was with this situational change. The picture Scooter sent had been quite clear, the paper’s headline assaulting her eyes the way the words were insulting the comic bear; she had calmly nodded to the room’s occupants and left as quickly and quietly as she could.

Normally the type of girl to enjoy the comforts of the chauffer driven car, Piggy also liked to get behind the wheel every once in a while. Oh, she knew the others thought she was a danger on the road – probably built from that horrible perception on women drivers – but sometimes Piggy had a need for speed. With Kermit out hobnobbing with the snobs, she had been quite happy at taking the little convertible that she swore up and down was bought for the frog and not for her; she couldn’t help it if he never drove it.

Taking her time to pull out of the hospital parking lot – it was a hospital, after all – she nonetheless put pedal to the metal as she hurried towards the Muppet Studios. Office Row, as they called it, was a series of offices on the backlot of the studios that served for various members of the troupe; Kermit, Scooter, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and the musicians of the group all had offices here, though they were hardly used during their show run.

These offices were mainly used during the times they were shooting a movie, which made it easier to get what they needed instead of hiking their way up to the theater. Kermit’s office kicked off the row, housing various items that were close to the frog’s heart; his many banjos were hung up on the walls (though his first and very favorite sat at home), along with pictures of him with their many guest stars and the group itself.

His prized possession however was a picture of him and Jim Henson, that proudly hung on the wall across from the door. The frog (and some of the others) had a habit of saying hello or goodbye to the man when leaving the office, their part in keeping alive the spirit of their friend and first cheerleader.

While she had only been given the context that they were located somewhere on Office Row, Piggy instinctively knew both captain and first mate were in Kermit’s office and nowhere else. Arriving at the door, Piggy let herself in with the key she always managed to have, gave a quick “Hello, Jim,” to the portrait that faced her, and joined Scooter in front of Kermit’s desk.

If the matter hadn’t been a serious one, Piggy may have sent the boy out in order for some alone time with her frog. Kermit always cut a dashing figure when he was dressed up; today’s assemble was a short sleeved dark blue mock turtle with black slacks and jacket. The jacket had been thrown carelessly over the back of the chair that the frog now sat in. Scooter was casually dressed, as he often did when he wasn’t being Andrew M. Grosse, in khaki shorts and a red collared polo shirt that highlighted the tuft of red hair on his head.

Neither said a word to her, with Kermit letting out a sigh while Scooter handed her the actual magazine he had taken from the restaurant customer. “What’re we gonna do?” the frog asked.

Piggy let the conversation, which she was sure had been going on far longer than it took her to arrive, filter around her as she read the article. Like something from the National Inquirer, the article on Fozzie was filled with huge images of the bear and parts of his act; the written article itself was full of misspellings and inaccuracies, not even taking into account that the article was claiming that Fozzie had died in the accident. Adding insult to injury, even the bits about them as a group were wrong.

“Fils de garce,” she muttered.

“Language,” Kermit said, throwing her a look. The last thing he wanted was for Piggy to get murderous about this or did he? He wasn’t sure how he should be feeling at the moment.

“I still say we sue for libel and defamation of character,” Scooter said. “It’s within our rights.”

“Let’s hold off on that as a last resort,” replied the frog, heaving another sigh. “I just wanna know who these guys are and what their beef is with Fozzie. How’d they even find out about the accident in the first place.”

Scooter, ever connected to technology, pulled out his smartphone before hitting a few buttons and presented his case. “The Rag Muffin is the newest tabloid on the street,” he read off. “Just launched a few months ago and is slowly making a path on the newsstands.”

“Obviously not slow enough,” retorted Piggy, throwing the paper on Kermit’s desk in disgust.

“Normally, I’d let this kind of thing slide,” Kermit said, picking up the thrown magazine and helping it find its way to his nearby trash can. “But this is going too far. We can’t have our fans thinking one of own is…we can’t have that.” Looking at the clock on the wall, he quickly stood up and started to put on his jacket.

“I gotta get outta here,” he said, straightening himself out. “I’m supposed to be meeting with the parent company for a late lunch. I’ll leave this in your capable hands.” Thinking about what he said, he looked at Piggy and quickly added, “Scooter.”

Caressing his face, Piggy retorted, “Go make bread, dearheart. Moi and Andrew have things in hand.”

Knowing that he wasn’t going to win the argument for the moment, the frog just nodded and headed out.

“Who wrote that, you know?”

“Lance Greenley.”

Turning to look at the red head, the diva growled, “Find him.”


[hr]


In another part of town, the very reporter who had broken the story of the death of Fozzie Bear was standing in the warehouse that worked as the offices for the Rag Muffin. Being the low budget outfit they were, the owner of the Muffin – Mr. P.J. Mufflelin – was big about cutting corners in order to save on the money it took to run a newspaper; that meant instead of traditional offices in a traditional building, Mufflelin had settled on an abandoned, two story warehouse to work out of.

And thanks to the rising trend of digital papers, all of the articles were made, edited, and produced on computers; very very old computers, like Windows 95 or the really old Macs, but they were computers and they did connect to the Internet, which was also on the low end of things. Their color printers had been a deal when Mufflelin had bought the warehouse, which had held a printing business that had unfortunately gone under thanks to the technology of the day.

The bottom floor was where the writers and editors worked, while the top floor held the ‘corporate’ offices. This was where Lance Greenley stood to accept the praise in breaking the story of the Muppet death. “That was a good scoop you got, kid,” replied Mufflelin, as he leaned back in his chair. Mufflelin acted as owner and head editor for the paper, having been a delivery boy when he was six made him assume he knew all about the newspaper industry.

“Thanks, Mr. Mufflelin,” Greenley replied. “I couldn’t believe it myself; it pays to be in the right place at the right time.”

“Indeed it does, boy, indeed it does.”

The conversation lasted for another fifteen minutes, ending with dibs on a prime assignment based out in Hollywood proper. Greenley of course accepted and nodded his goodbye, leaving the upstairs office and heading down to his desk in a quieter and offset part of the writing and editing floor. While the new assignment would be great, something nagged at Greenley in terms of this Muppet thing.

Oh sure, he could’ve checked his facts on whether or not the bear was truly dead, but what mattered was getting people to pick up and more importantly, buy the magazine and if the world’s most beloved comic bear was shown to have died on the cover, then that was more money for them. Greenley had done some research – he had to pad out the article besides stating the bear was in a car crash and died – and a couple of interesting things had passed by his radar.

Firstly, in covering the career of Fozzie Bear, he noted that there had been a seven year gap between the Muppets’ last movie and the most recent one; in that time, Fozzie had been doing comedy tours before signing up with the Moopets, a cover group if you will of the Muppets. Why would a member of a comedy troupe settle for a fake parody of the group he once worked for? That led him to check out what the other members of the Muppets were doing during that time and it was an interesting find, too:

The Great Gonzo went on to become one of the richest plumbing magnates.

Scooter Grosse went to work for search God Google.

The Electric Mayhem did several tours before quietly backing out of the spotlight.

Sam the Eagle had gotten his own guest spot on a nationally syndicated news program.

Miss Piggy had left the country in order to become the plus sized editor at Vogue.

There were other cases too, of members leaving the limelight or doing other things. That is to say, doing other things than what people were expecting, which was Muppet movies. Growing curious, Greenley dug a little more and discovered that the Muppets did have a movie going before everyone seemed to bail; that movie had stopped production, however the dates were off. One listing said the studio stopped producing the movie on one day, while other reports stated the group stopped and disbanded three weeks later.

What was the deal with that?

Knowing the Muppets would never talk to him – they had a thing against tabloid reporters for some reason – Greenley knew he’d have to get to the bigger source, that of the people who knew or worked with them during that missing time frame. Lance was a smart guy and knew that many of these people wouldn’t want to tarnish the great name of the all and powerful Muppets, except one group.

The Moopets.

Fozzie’s former partners had most assuredly run afoul of their namesakes – besides fighting to get Fozzie - who was still under contract - back, they had joined up with the very man who had been trying to get the studios, one Tex Richman. Apparently, some head trauma caused by an errant bowling ball had given the businessman amnesia and he basically rescinded everything he had done up to that point. Once the studios and Fozzie had been back in the fold, Grosse’s lawyers had turned around and sued the Moopets for copyright infringement.

Leaning back in his chair, Lance nodded. He would need to make some calls and then get a plane ticket to Reno.


[hr]


A few days later

Wednesday morphed into Thursday, when morphed into Friday and the weekend. Before Fozzie knew it, he was in his second week of hospital confinement; anyone else would have chaffed at not being able to move or the incredible discomfort of not being able to scratch your leg when you wanted to, but the comic found he had no such issues.

And it was all thanks to one Penelope Strider.

Penelope Strider had recently been assigned as Fozzie’s nurse, replacing the part time traveling nurse that had taken care of him after he left the emergency room and had gotten a private room. Penny was a bear, something that was rarely seen within the public (besides any bears that were contracted with the Muppets, of course) and she was as kind as she was pretty, at least Fozzie thought so.

And his thoughts were leading him into dangerous waters; he and Penny had struck up a friendship, learning about one another as one bear took care of the other. Penny had grown up in upstate New York, just as he did, living in the type of farmhouse/cabin that his family had grown up in; she had gone to school there before deciding that her helping nature warranted a pursuit of something along those lines. She had come to California around the same time he had and he had wondered why they had missed each other.

She had shyly admitted that she was a fan of the show, making time to either watch or record it when it came on Sundays. She loved the comedy, the music, the acting, the guest stars, all of it and she thought he was quite the funny bear.

That had of course elevated his ego to the point where, when he saw her, he made sure to have ready made material to test for her.

“You’re really sweet to let me test material out on you,” he said, that Monday when she came to check on him.

“You’re really sweet to test it on me,” she retorted. “And I bring you good news.”

“Better than seeing you on a daily basis?” he asked, smiling at her. “I can’t imagine what could be better than that.”

Even the hue of Penny’s fur couldn’t hide the blush that appeared on her cheeks. Giving his arm an affectionate squeeze, she said, “Flatterer. The good news is twofold, actually. One, your shoulder looks to be healing fairly well and two, your leg is healing well, too.”

“That’s good, right?”

“That’s very good,” she said. “It means we can get you on some crutches and down to physical therapy.”

“Awesome!” the comic exclaimed. His happiness deflated though when he got to that last part. “Physical therapy?”

“Don’t worry,” she said, patting him on the leg. “I’ll be right with you. We’re just making sure you can move everything they way you could before.”

“Aw, Penny, I really owe you.”

“No, you don’t,” she began. She stopped, however and looked at him.

“What?”

“Actually…” she started. “I was wondering…and I hate to impose, but…you know what? It’s stupid and rude and I shouldn’t be asking…”

“Penny, what is it?” Fozzie asked, grabbing her arm as best as he could with the uninjured one. “I promise, whatever it is, whatever you need, I’ll help as best as I can.”

Penny was still a bit hesitant, but then relaxed, taking the comic’s hand in hers. “I wanted to ask if it was okay if I brought someone to see you,” she said.

“A fan?”

“Only the biggest,” she chuckled. Blushing prettily, she whispered, “It’s my son. He absolutely adores you and I was hoping…well, I was hoping if I could bring him by and you could say hi to him.”

Fozzie did his best to keep his disappointment to himself. Of course she was married! Why did he think she’d be available? But never let it be said that Fozzie didn’t enjoy kids, because he absolutely did. “My biggest fan, huh?” he asked, giving her hand a squeeze. “Of course you can bring him by. I’ll even let him sign my cast!”

“He’ll need help,” she responded, going around to mark notes on his chart. “He’s only two and a half.”

“Well,” Fozzie said, clearing his throat. “Maybe your husband, I mean, his father could help him. He can come too, of course! I don’t want you to think that he’s excluded or something.”

Penny’s expression dropped slightly, as she hung his chart back up. “My husband died,” she whispered. “About two years ago; not sure if Frankie remembers him or not.”

“Aw Penny,” Fozzie groaned. “I’m so sorry. That was totally insensitive of me.”

“No it wasn’t,” she said, smiling sweetly at him. “Most people assume I’m married cause of Frankie.”

“I’d still like to meet him,” the comic said. “A kid should get a special treat every once in a while and if I’m that to him, then I gotta step up and let him sign my cast!”

That put a much bigger smile on her face, adding to the laughter she gave at his explanation. “Thanks, Foz,” she replied, walking over to him. “It would really mean a lot to him.”

“No problem,” he sighed, dreamily.

Giving him one last smile, Penny leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. “I’ll come back to check on you in a little while, okay?”


Fozzie could only nodded, happily.
 

WebMistressGina

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
913
Reaction score
655
Aw geez, you guys! I totally forgot to tell you about the upcoming Mondays!

So what's after this coach?

Well, next is A Monday Return! You all should remember that our favorite young frog scout returned to the Pool Hall series as a teen. Well, this is about all that behind the scenes stuff I alluded to.

Then it's a Monday Morning Marriage. From the title, somebody's getting married!

After that is A Monday Mourning. Remember that Scooter story I keep saying I started and am going to write? It used to be Grosse Pointe Blank? This is now that story.

And that's if for the Mondays, for the moment. You know how my brain is.
 

WebMistressGina

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
913
Reaction score
655
Halo, everybody! In case you missed the update in the 4Ball thread, I've had a very chaotic week last week, which caused both this and 4 Ball to be late. I am happy to report that everything seems to be okay for the moment; this may still be late, depending on whether I am able to get my job back, but other than this and New York Minute, everything should be caught up here.

Here is the newest chap of Accident...


VI.


Ask anyone who has ever broken a bone and they will tell you that physical therapy is not fun. Even if they had the nicest therapist in the world, the difficulty in learning how to use an appendage that you’ve been using for years is well…difficult. And frustrating and irritating all at the same time.

For Fozzie Bear, not only did he need to learn how to walk with a giant cast on his left leg, but he also needed to start moving his right arm and shoulder. The first day was excruciating; lying in a bed for a week made the body soft, even if it was soft already. The comic was one of the lucky few who had managed to reach their adult lives without having ever broken a bone, at least until he was T-boned in the middle of an intersection.

The memory of the event was still hazy, though more of the feeling of what was happening at the time seemed a little more clear than it had been before, but he still didn’t know what had really happened, at least from the point of view from someone who had seen it.

As excited as he had been to get out of bed, it was quickly replaced with the intense pain of getting out of bed for the first time in a week and a half. The doctor had given the go ahead for Fozzie to get out and about, the danger of injuring his leg again having passed, at least in terms of being able to actually move it; Penny and another nurse had been instrumental in getting the bear out of bed and into a wheelchair, despite his screaming, crying, and begging to be put out of his misery.

Once in the wheelchair however, the bear had changed his entire attitude when he realized that Penny would be spending most of her time with him; in fact, she had basically volunteered to be his personal nurse during his stay, allowing for some of the incoming nurses to take other patients while the tan bear watched over the comic. The sentiment was incredibly sweet and brought a blush to the comic’s face, the feelings he already had growing larger with each passing day.

Within the first floor of the hospital, there was a ward completely devoted to rehabilitation and physical therapy; this was the area that people went to for both in and outpatient therapy, with PTs helping folks regain the mobility of their injured limbs. Fozzie wasn’t a hospital person, in fact, he absolutely hated being in one; even when the Muppets did their tour of duty, as they called it, of the children’s hospitals, Fozzie always had the hardest time getting in and getting out.

It was always so tough to see a little kid in a hospital bed, especially when they may have had something more debilitating than the average cold or broken bone. The bear was a sucker for kids – he loved them! – so to see their sick, little bodies in a hospital bed, sometimes with the knowledge that they may never leave that bed or worse, wouldn’t leave it alive, was just too much for him.

Being wheeled down to physical therapy seemed to take the longest he had ever known a trip to be. Entering the room, the bear was surprised to see just how many people had to go through therapy for various ailments; there were a few athletes that had hurt themselves and were trying to get their limbs back to their former glory, while there were a few senior citizens who had fallen and hurt themselves and were getting back to their feet, as they say.

There were a few patients who had lost limbs, whether it had been from accidents like Fozzie or some other reason, and they were learning how to live without their missing appendage. There had been a fire in an apartment building during the week of Fozzie’s car accident and while there had been no deaths, thankfully, there had been injuries and the bear saw first-hand how many of the injured found themselves in therapy to learn how to reuse limbs that had been burned or who were in the same position he was in, with broken or shattered limbs.

“You’ve been awful quiet.”

Penny’s breath coasting across his ear rattled him from his contemplative state, sending a chill down his spine at the contact. “Sorry,” she apologized. “Did I startle you?”

“No,” he said, chuckling nervously. “I just…” looking out at the others, Fozzie gestured to how many folks were down there.

“It can be a little hard to handle sometimes,” she said, wheeling him over to the area and the therapist that would be helping him that session. “Especially when you see kids down here.”

“Do you ever…” he began, turning to look at her, before turning away in embarrassment.

“I had a lot of trouble when I first became a nurse,” she whispered. “Taking care of kids was the hardest, but you’d surprised at how much a person can survive, especially when they have the will and hope to lead lives that were interrupted.”

“Good morning, Mr. Bear!” replied the therapist. He was one of the human staff members, though he was pretty short when standing against some of his counterparts. He was bald, with a small tuft of reddish facial hair on his chin, and bright blue eyes that immediately made the bear feel comfortable in his presence. “I’m Tim and I’ll be working on that shoulder and your leg. Wanna make sure you stay a standup comic, right?”

“Ha!” Fozzie laughed. “That’s funny!”

“Timmy’s a good guy,” Penny said, nodding at the PT. “You better take care of him, Dirkland; this is my favorite patient and I’ll be cross if you mistreat him.”

Tim smiled knowingly at the nurse, raising an eyebrow in Fozzie’s direction until both turned red. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, saluting. “I promise this bear will not come to harm under my watch.”

Giving Fozzie’s shoulder a squeeze, Penny leaned over to whisper, “I have one patient to check on, but I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Yeah, Penny,” he said, nodding. “I’ll be alright.”

Sharing a smile, the nurse nodded to both the bear and the therapist before heading out, a love sick comic following her with his eyes as she left. “Someone has a crush,” Tim murmured, helping the bear out of the wheelchair and onto a mat.

“I can’t help it,” Fozzie sighed. “She’s so nice and pretty and helpful and…”

“I was asking talking about Penny,” Tim confirmed. “But that’s good to know, too.”


[hr]


Kermit never liked hospitals; he certainly enjoyed visiting people and people always enjoyed when the frog came by. It was one of the reasons he usually came by early, as he knew people would want to speak to him or wanted him to meet someone, usually a patient; when it came to visiting his best comic bear at one of California’s busiest hospital, that was most definitely the case.

The last week had been a tight rope of feelings for the frog; what should have been a normal Monday had turned into wondering if he had lost his best friend or not. From there, in learning that he still could enjoy the fruits, labors, and joys of life with his future best man, he was greeted with an article that basically stated that Fozzie Bear was dead. Seeing that, Kermit had known that instead of just allowing that week’s show to go on without the comic, he would have to address it and hope their fans hadn’t read the article or at least, didn’t believe it.

Luckily, their fans – while worried – had known that the truth would be told to them from the source and they weren’t stupid enough to believe that their favorite comic was truly gone. As MC, Kermit had to explain that yes, Fozzie had been in an accident, but that he was okay and recovering; the hope was of course that the bear would be back within a few weeks.

That of course wasn’t what was bothering him.

It was one thing to have to tell fans that the beloved comic bear would be out for some time and it was one thing to tell them the reason for his absence, however it was something completely different when he actually needed to dispel rumors that one of them was dead. That Kermit wasn’t comfortable or even happy in doing. This reporter who had ‘broken the story’ as it were seemed to be the kind of person they didn’t want to deal with.

Oh, they had created a litany of villains for their films and for what ever reason, they all followed the same format – some being who was out to ruin them because they dared to make people happy. The frog knew that there really weren’t people like that in the world, but on the other hand, he knew enough about the world and its history to know that there are those who are heck bent on destroying the lives of others just because they can.

That was the feeling he was getting from this journalist; oh, he had never liked tabloid reporters, fake journalist who only wanted to sell as many papers as they could without bothering to get their facts straight or even caring if their lies would ruin someone’s life. Not only were they dishonest, but they were ruthless and dangerous and that’s what made them – and this situation in particular – troublesome. While Kermit had come to grips and terms with it, he couldn’t lie and say he wasn’t still bothered by a decision he had made a few years ago, the result had nearly split them again and they had done their best to ensure that those secrets – their breakup, their production, all of it – were buried and would never be dug up.

That’s why deep inside, the frog was worried. Tabloid reporters were seldom happy at just doing a story and letting it go, pursuing it until they had exhausted every avenue they could possibly think of, getting the last juicy tidbits before wiping their hands clean, happy in a job well done. If this Green or whatever his name was had been willing to just think and then let others think, that Fozzie had died in that car crash, what was to say he wouldn’t continue this course until he had found every piece of dirty laundry the group had.

That stopped him, as in literally stopped him in his tracks as he made his way down the hall to Fozzie’s room. Kermit wouldn’t pretend that he was perfect or that the rest of the group was perfect; they were folks like anyone else – abeit smaller and more felt like – but folks nonetheless. Of course they had made mistakes, taken paths that weren’t the best until they finally found their footing; everyone did that. However, as celebrities, their mistakes could make or break them, turn their fans against them, and ruin them forever if it they were bad enough; Kermit liked to think that his huge emotional break up with the group’s leading lady, coupled with having cast and crew work on a movie production three weeks after it had been cancelled wasn’t something that could ruin them.

But stranger things had happened.

For now, the frog took a deep breath and put those thoughts, those feelings aside, as he opened the door to the room; there was no sense in getting Fozzie upset.


[hr]


Reno, Nevada was almost the same type of beast that Las Vegas was.

Almost.

Lance Greenly had been to Vegas many times, but this had been the first time he had ever traveled to Reno, usually figuring it was the poor man’s Vegas. He was slightly right, as the city didn’t have as many casinos and hot spots that its bigger brother did, but it seemed to be a town that did alright for the most part. However, Lance wasn’t there to do any gambling; he was there on assignment.

After digging around, Greenly had discovered the parody group known as the Moopets, thug versions of the family friendly Muppets for those who wanted the Muppets without the friendly and the family part. Learning that clean cut comic Fozzie Bear had actually been the headliner of the group had been surprising, but not as surprising as learning that he had actually gotten one member – Miss Poogy – to join the Muppets while her counterpart was still in Paris; coupled with the fact that the group had then turned around and sued the parody group for copyright infringement had been another stunning tidbit.

These Muppets weren’t as sunshine sweet as they’d like people to think apparently.

And that was why Greenly was in Reno. Reporting the death of Fozzie Bear was nothing when he could expose the Muppets for what they truly were – Hollywood celebrities who had the world fooled with fake personas. They had never fooled him, in fact no celebrity ever had, and truth be known he had been waiting for an opportunity to knock them down a peg. And this looked to be his chance. Discovering the Moopets urged him to give them a call, getting their sleazy agent, who had been more than happy to tell their side of the story in their Muppet dealings; they had arranged a meeting with the whole group and all Lance had to do was find the casino they were working in. Apparently, after the successful comeback of the Muppets, the casino they had been doing work in dropped them once people realized they weren’t the actual Muppets.

Apparently, a few of their members had even gotten into a confrontation with the businessman who had been trying to buy out the studio. There was even rumors of substance abuse and that one member had needed to be dragged off to rehab.


All the makings of a great tell all story and Lance Greenly was going to be the first to get it.
 

The Count

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
31,234
Reaction score
2,919
Woot! Me likes where this is headed. Mooppet intrigue... One of them even had to go into drug/detox rehab? *Hopes it's not Animool, nor Janooce, for realz. Rully like how Fozzie's crush on Penny is developing. And Kerm, about those thoughts, you might want to contact Boy Wonder. No, the original Boy Wonder, not :fanatic: or your mephew. Thanks for posting, it's appreciated and hope you have a better day today. :smile:
 

Misskermie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2011
Messages
6,690
Reaction score
1,488
Well since I'm lazy,
I'll say, I LOVE THIS CHAPTER,
and...
I bet it was either Kermoot or Poogy. :3
Moopet related things.
It brings me happies. :big_grin:
 

WebMistressGina

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2012
Messages
913
Reaction score
655
Goooooooood morning, Muppet Central! Are you ready to rock!?

So, firstly, my bad for the lateness; kinda got stuck. And then I was unstuck, but I had to write down the idea that had gotten me unstuck, which led to other ideas and you know how that goes and stuff. Anyway, here it is, on a Thursday, your Monday update, but just in case you're just tuning in (or like me, kinda forgot what happened) - here's a summary:

Everyone's favorite bear comic Fozzie Bear got into a near fatal accident and managed to walk away with just a few broken bones. While in the hospital, he meets fellow bear and nurse Penny Strider, whom he quickly becomes enamored with and vice versa. Meanwhile, a sleazy reporter from the tabloid Rag Muffin put out an article on the death of Fozzie (which isn't true), but it did get him wondering about a few things...

Gonna put up the SPOILER ALERT for anyone who hasn't gone through the whole Monday series yet; THAR BE SPOILERS HERE! Spoilers include the 2011 movie and everything in the Monday series starting all the way from the beginning. And now....



VII.


“You’re making your career with this, mark my words.”

Lance Greenly was in a business in which he heard blowhards all day long and Shiv Snidely could give those guys a run for their money. Shiv was the new manager for the Moopets, a short furry monster the same color that Lance was sure his high school cafeteria lunches were back in the day; a pukish mix of brown and yellow, Shiv was a little too excitable in regards to his newest clients.

The Carbell Casino and Motel was the place Greenly found himself on a Thursday night, flying in from LA on a moment’s notice once he had tracked down where the Moopets were. He had of course read about the whole showdown between them and their family friendly counterparts, but he had wanted to learn the story first hand, especially in regards to Fozzie being one of their members, even for a short amount of time.

That’s how the reporter got in touch with Snidely, the manager who had taken over after the previous manager – a Tex Richman – had apparently changed his mind in regards to taking Muppet Studios.

Shiv had enthusiastically met Greenly at the airport and had driven him all the way back to the Carbell, showing him through the back entrance towards the small dressing rooms that were there for the acts. The motel was a dive alright, if the outside was anything to go by; several letters of the neon sign had gone out, proclaiming that people come in to the ‘Carb Mote’ to spend their money. As they went through the back entrance, Greenly saw signs that stated the Moopets were playing in the casino bar, which told the reporter all he needed to know.

The back dressing rooms, which were between the alley and kitchen, were converted bathrooms meaning that the larger dressing room was the only one that had a working bathroom; conveniently, Miss Poogy – the supposed star of the group – was occupied in this dressing room, while the rest of the group shared the dressing room next door. It was in Poogy’s room that Greenly was set to meet with the pig, Kermoot the Frog, and their newest member, Foozie, who had changed his name to the more urban F-Bomb.

“It’s about time you got here.”

Greenly, from living in Hollywood and really the universe, knew who the Muppets were and wasn’t that much of a fan. He thought their comedy low brow and childish; with this one opening sentence, coming from the belle of the ball herself – Miss Poogy – Greenly knew he wasn’t going to like the Moopets either.

Where the Muppets were of the child and family friendly variety of slapstick and comedy best left to old VHS machines and record players, from reputation alone, the Moopets were crass, rude, and incredibly unfunny, no matter how you looked at it.

“Finally,” a light green frog huffed. “We get interviewed instead of those stupid Muppets.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here actually,” Greenly replied. “I heard you guys got into a couple of scrapes with them.”

“Scrapes?” Poogy asked, angrily. “I would’ve had that porker on the ground if it wasn’t for interference. Those two bit hacks don’t fight fair”

“So what’s up?” Greenly asked. “What’s the deal with you guys? I heard Fozzie Bear was a member of your group.”

“Yo man,” replied F-Bomb. “That joker couldn’t make a rock laugh.”

“Hey, is it true?” Kermoot asked. “I heard the bear was dead. How’d they take it?”

Lance shrugged; he had put out the word about Fozzie and it was obvious that these guys thought it was true. Who was he to set them straight? “You know the Muppets,” he sneered. “They don’t talk to reporters who actually want the truth; tabloid, they say, when really, all I’m trying to do to tell the people what they want and need to hear.”

“Amen to that,” the pig exclaimed. “So you wanna know the score between us and those losers? Well, have I got a story to tell you…”


[hr]


As crazy as it was, Lance Greenly spent a good three hours with the Moopet trio, but he had gotten what he thought was a lifetime of recognition for it.

If anyone else had told him the things he had heard that night, he would’ve questioned them and their motives, but hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, had given him not only insight into the Muppets, but actually put more questions he wanted answered into his head.

Of course the Moopets had a score with the Muppets – they had been sued after all, but the big, larger than life stories, were those that came from Poogy and Kermoot. Having been members with Fozzie Bear and then Poogy, who had been a Muppet replacement for all of thirty minutes was enough to get dirt on just about everything.

He walked them through the introduction of Fozzie Bear – they had been a bunch of hardcore musicians that were going nowhere until an agent had told them former Muppet Fozzie was looking for a gig. This was their former agent, who thought a ‘tribute’ group to the Muppets would be great, especially with the comic bear leading them.

The name Moopets had been coined by someone, but they couldn’t remember who, however Fozzie had of course objected to the name. A reminder of what his contract stated – the very contract that the group had brought up, which Fozzie had not completed and was in breach of – had shut the bear up and the group began working the casinos and bars of Reno.

The lawsuit was hush hush, thanks to the Muppet boy wonder Scooter Grosse, but it did make Lance question why the wholesome Muppets would feel the need to sue anyone. That lead to the juicy stories that he wanted.

According to the trio, Fozzie Bear was a sobby, depressing mess when he ended up with them and it had sometimes lead to some heated confrontations about his behavior. Jokes fell flatter than flat when he was onstage, though Greenly was sure that no one paid attention or even cared, and the fact that he was just a little excited and happy at times made him the butt of the jokes.

It was good riddance, as far as they were concerned, when the bear hightailed it out with Kermit and friends, but you could’ve knocked Poogy over with a feather when he had come crawling back asking for a favor; it seemed their leading lady, Miss Piggy, wasn’t available to be in their show or whatever and they needed Poogy to fill in for her. Poogy was more than happy to do it, not because the bear had asked, but because it would be her big break to get away from the losers she had to be saddled with.

The Muppets were losers in themselves, but they were well known losers, unlike the Moopets, who were just backwater stepping stones to her rise to stardom.

Poogy had been in a prime location – that of Miss Piggy’s dressing room – and while the rest of the group was cleaning up the theater, she had been upstairs, making the leading lady’s dressing room her own. That meant clearing everything out that had Piggy’s fingerprints all over it; according to Poogy, she had come across a torn wedding photo that had been lingering in the vanity drawer for quite some time, featuring Kermit the Frog dressed in a tuxedo. It was only when she had been in the midst of hurling out some of Piggy’s things that she had passed by two chorus girls who were speaking in hushed tones.

Apparently, things weren’t as rosy sweet as the public may have thought within the Muppet camp. The ‘time off to pursue other interests’ that the group had stated as many of them left wasn’t exactly the truth; the frog and pig were in a contentious tug of war over their wedding and marriage, while the rest of the group had to hear about it. From what Poogy got from the conversation, it seemed as though battle lines had been drawn and certain Muppets took sides, pitting friend and family against each other.

And if that wasn’t delicious and tasty in itself, something had happened during the production of what should have been their newest movie. It was no secret that at some point, the Muppets had lost their edge, with more TV movies than actual movies and their last effort had gone from big budget production to total dud when it wasn’t delivered on time. There was still some mystery surrounding that – there was a script and they had even started filming, but at some point, the group had splintered off and the movie was shelved.

That in itself was interesting and it could explain why the Muppets had broken up in the first place.

Added to that was the behavior of the comic bear, who had been growing increasingly depressed and despondent the more he worked with them. F-Bomb had even mentioned that he had thrown out a few unsent letters and even letters that had been returned, addressed to several different people; Lance was starting to put together a picture and that picture was looking better and better, at least in terms of this newest exposé.

So, the power couple had issues in their relationship – that was no secret – but apparently, there had been a wedding and then a dispute on whether it had been real or not. That made Lance wonder – could the frog and pig have married for a reason that didn’t involve romance?

That would need to be investigated and it would be tricky, as it meant getting medical records and it could lead to a possible lawsuit if he didn’t word it just right. But that would be the next step he would take.

So, the power couple starts going through what is essentially a divorce and it pits everyone against each other. Interesting, very interesting. This leads to several members leaving, which then splinters the group as a whole. That would explain why the stunt weirdo had gone into plumbing, why the gofer went to Google, and why the leading lady had hidden out in Paris, France. That lead him to Fozzie and his joining with the Moopets; that seemed easy in itself – lost without the troupe’s backing, the bear had gone for a facsimile of the original. And had been miserable in doing so.

Even getting back together had been an issue, as the pig diva had apparently been a no-show, despite the group stating that everyone had been so happy to be back together again.

It was a good starting story, but Lance was still confused about something. Common knowledge knew that Tex Richman had been in process of taking Muppet Studios, but how the heck did he get his hands on it in the first place? Currently, the studios – including the Muppet Theatre – belonged to the Muppets, case closed, but what transpired for them to lose the studios and then get it back?

There was also the question about this mysterious movie that was never made. It was Hollywood, after all, and there were legions of scripts and ideas that never saw the light of the silver screen, however this was one movie that intrigued the reporter. There’s always a reason for a movie production to grind to a halt, whether it be the actors involved, the director, producer, or even the budget going over the limit; but this movie seemed different, only because there didn’t seem to be a reason given.

Added to that was the fact that soon after, the group had parted ways for several years. Could this be a case of a group just exploding? It happened in music circles everywhere, the best and famous example being about four guys from England who set the world of rock on fire back in the day; could the Muppets have experienced that? Greenly hadn’t been lying when he told the Moopets that he wanted truth, justice, and all that crap; there was some truth to the stuff the Rag Muffin wrote and he did have evidence to back some of this stuff up.


All he needed was the fluff and stuff to make it a great article that would get people reading.
 

The Count

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
31,234
Reaction score
2,919
Wha? An update from Gina? Ooooh... What is you scheming in that sick li'l mind o' yours. There's too many little follow-the-arrow signs for this reporter to bring down the troop. Please post more soon.
 

Misskermie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2011
Messages
6,690
Reaction score
1,488
I see ya scheming over there.

"There are Moopets in this movie story?"

HOORRRAAAAAAYYYY

But... I'm more concerned about what they told Greenly...
More please!
 
Top