Supporting Art: Grampappet Tells a Story
"So you wanna hear about CAP 28? Settle down, young'uns, it's quite a tale..."
"Where do I start? I suppose I heard about the great CAP 28 just like everybody else. 'Course all I had were two strings to rub together and my trusty steed so I hurried down to apply as a Dragon-type. Gotta say, trying to convince
folks I was legit wasn't easy..."
"Now of course I could've gotten mad, I know many a feller who don't take kindly to folks disparaging good headwear. But I patched up my dragon puppet as best as I could and hoedowned like I'd never hoedowned before! I had to show that I could be a showstopper, dragon or no dragon."
"And knock me down with a Feather Dance, but we were a shoo-in for third place! I was so surprised I nearly got a knot in my spinneret. Course I weren't the only one surprised, and who could blame her? I don't think most folks thought a puppet could be a dragon. Sure I was happy to have made it in - but it also meant that I had to say goodbye to some
fine fellers, who I owed my performance to. Made me sadder than a Sobble with a double Special Defence drop."
"I like to think
these folks still had a lot of fun, despite being worried about how they did. It's a strange thing being on stage, shivering like a Gible eatin' Powder Snow or screaming like a choir of Whismur."
"Sometimes I think about those folks and where they might be. I hope they're safe, although there were
a few who... well, let's just say I get a little iffy around pancake houses these days..."
"The dancing went on and even more fine fellers dropped out of the running. Puppet and I managed to squeeze in at 3rd place again. But that didn't stop the ones who fell by the wayside, oh no. They put up a darn fine performance of charging the light brigade at high noon and snap my strings if it didn't bring a tear to my eye."
"And then it happened - we came in 3rd place for a competition for Top 2. We were out on the street and that was that. But you know, I wasn't angry. I wasn't even sad! I was tickled how we came so far and so consistently at 3rd place. Gunspider and hallucigenia and I painted the town red that night. We went to the local watering holes and danced and danced and danced the night away. Competition or no competition, performing was in our blood! I daresay it's in everyone's."
"The morning dawned and the moment of truth came. I felt obliged to congratulate the top feller for coming ahead, t'was the polite thing to do."
"And of course, there was the belle of the ball who'd somehow become both my rival and sterling example of a showstealer. What else needed to be said? We were performers, and there was only one thing we could do... perform some more."
"Sometimes folks ask where the other CAP creations go. The ones who never quite made it, the ones who needed a little more time in the oven, the ones who fell short of the finish line."
"I know where they went - in the hearts and minds of others where they perform as they please. To spark stories. To shock and awe. To inspire others to walk the path they did."
"And that, young'uns, is all I really have to say about that."