Beautiful.

This story was so touching. I didn't expect the fire at the end. Thanks for writing it!

EXCELLENT.

LilPippin,

Isn't it funny how the title of a fic can affect your willingness to read it?

I saw this title on and was stereotyped it into thinking that it was something that wouldn't be necessarily special. It was only when I read it that I have had the opportunity to admit that I read something very special.

Bravo is one of the words I will use. I loved how you slowly and gently evolved each of Virgil's special relationships. We are left with no doubts whatsoever as to why Virgil is the man that he is and why he hates Christmas so passionately. The most poignant part for me is where he talks to his Grandpa about his Dad healing from the death of his mother. Beautiful work. Not often a tear wells in my eyes but you certainly achieved it here.

You are an author with lots of promise and a wonderful talent. My only suggestion is that you really think about complementing your talent with more complementary story titles.

Cogratulations

yours in writing

mcj

Wow.

What a wonderful addition to the "Thunderbirds" realm. LilPippin, you are an incredible writer and I must say you did so very well not just in writing the Tracys but in how you imaginatively retold "A Christmas Carol!"

I have not in a good long while felt so completely entranced by a story to the exclusion of my surroundings. What a marvelous gem and beautifully told story.

EVERYTHING made sense, from why Virgil hated Christmas to his and Scott's interactions at that age, to your descriptions of what Virgil was shown by the ghosts (and I *loved* who the ghosts were) to the impact what he was shown had on him.

It was so good my hair stood on end when Virgil saw the name on the gravestone!

Very, very well done indeed. My hat is off to you.

An interesting take on an old story (as an American, I doubt if you saw the Christmas ep of Doctor Who yet?)

I liked the way you brought in Virgil's cough, then we suddenly realised what was causing it.

Hope your muse pays you some more visits this year

quiller

PS one small typo 'expressive' should be 'express'

great story

Sorry for the delay in reading and reviewing – two jobs, both in retail, left with me with literally zero free time the past several weeks, so I’m just now getting caught up!

I loved your unique variation on a Christmas Carol and the way Virgil was shown the events of his life out of sequence. I particularly liked that when he was shown the headstone, the name on it wasn’t his! A very unexpected twist.

I felt so bad for Virgil! You portrayed his emotions so believably. When you buy a present for someone that you think they’ll like and their response isn’t what you were expecting, it can be disappointing. But when you put your heart into a gift, giving a piece of your soul, and it isn’t received in the manner you intended it’s devastating. Throw into the mix that the gifts came from a thirteen-year-old boy and it can be crushing. My heart just broke for Virgil; I could feel how much he was hurting at his family’s perceived snubbing of his gifts.

Gordon and Alan’s reactions could be written off to a degree as they are just kids, but Jeff’s reaction was especially crushing; yet at the same time, it was unavoidable. Virgil wouldn’t have the life experience to know that beautiful gift was being given too soon and Jeff would be too lost in grief to hide his reaction. I was so relieved and happy when Virgil was able to see the future and know his father really did cherish the painting even if he couldn’t show it at the time.

Every year at Christmas, we get a few ghost of past, present and future stories in every fandom. I do enjoy reading them but I have to say this is one of the best ‘takes’ on that theme that I’ve ever read! Thank you for sharing it with us.

Alaina

Oh wow, this was an amazing story! Really moving, you've captured everything perfectly! Love it!

This was wonderful from start to finish. Thunderbirds and Dickens – who could ask for a more perfect combination at Christmas? Poor Virgil – you captured his feelings beautifully.

To do all this in just a few hours – that’s really impressive. Thanks for a really entertaining story.

Bee

That was lovely. A Christmas Carol is one of my favourites and you did a marvellous job of integrating the Tracys into this classic tale. Well done.

Loved this.

Dear LilPippin,

What a wonderful Thunderbirds rendition of "A Christmas Carol"!

Great dialogue and emotion in the characters - it was just enough drama but at the same time you also managed to keep the story flowing at a good pace. I also enjoyed Santa's humor!

I also loved the little literary references you snuck in there, especially the "of course you're lost, you're Virgil" joke. ;)

Merry Christmas!

Ariadne

Dear LilPippin

What an awesome effort. I am totally in awe of a lot of the writers here, but to have done this in such a little amount of time... WOW!

I loved the different take and I particularly love Virgil's comments to 'Santa'. Really, really well done. The end was a very nice twist to the usual Dickonasian fair.

There is nothing to dislike and everything to love about this story. Excellently crafted and thank you so much for sharing.

Merry Christmas to you!

The further into this story I read, the more I realised how beautiful it was. You did well to write it in such a short space of time with all the detail you packed into it and the nod to A Christmas Carol made it stand out, for me anyway.

I am glad Virgil was made to realise how precious his gifts were, even though he didn't think so at the time. Future John in TB5 was a lovely little scene, I adore John, I can't say it enough times- he deserves to have a Christmas just as much as his brothers!

There was so much delightful imagery here. I liked Santa's sense of humour too. You can wear out my name, I've got plenty more.

The gravestone at the end literally made my blood run cold. (I won't spoil it for any one who reads reviews first!)

Thanks for another great read, LilPippin x