[color=green][b][u]Leo’s Parade Diaries: Invitation to the Special Collaboration Circus[/u][/b][/color] ---------------------- Leo the Tiger speaking; you also know me as the Marching Wonder. Alternatively, I become the Majestic Marcher when I have all eight special jewels known as the Dilemma Tones, and when you add eight more jewels known as the Amped Tones, I become the Marching Miracle, truly invincible, but being in this form drains my energy very fast. I think the longest I have been the Marching Miracle was just 20 minutes; afterwards, it was almost two weeks before I could return to duty. Just as the Chaos Emeralds and the Super Emeralds turn Sonic the Hedgehog into Super Sonic, and are connected to the Master Emerald, my Dilemma Tones and Amped Tones are also connected to another special jewel, the Grand Tone. The difference, though, is that the Dilemma and Amped Tones do not scatter and disappear all over again as the Chaos Emeralds do. They stay in one place. (The Dilemma Tones are eight quarter note-shaped jewels that come in different colors, in case you weren’t aware, while the Amped Tones are half note-shaped jewels, and the Grand Tone is in the shape of a whole note. Music really is my life, but not all of it; just about 90% of it.) Thankfully, I don’t have to worry too much about that. I’ve only ever had to level up about five or six times when the situation called for it, as most of the heaviest of heavyweight superhero jobs ends up on Cripto’s shoulders. It is he who is actually the most powerful superhero in the universe, and you can clearly see the improvement he has made over the years. --------------------- That’s not what I am here to talk about, though, although it is important that everybody knows that. In fact, Sonic and his friends had nothing to do with this adventure we were preparing to embark on soon. Instead, it concerned me and my friends from the Toppet Kingdom, Blue and Pink. The Toppet Kingdom is an uncharted land, primarily for safety precautions, and it did not help that, according to Blue, it had been a land torn by war and destruction over the years in ways the rest of the world wouldn’t even think about. (“And you thought you Americans had problems with your own Civil Wars!” the citizens would say.) One of Toppet’s best and most beloved attractions about it, other than the royal family of lions ruling over it, is its amazing circus led by Limbani Merito, a lion with the perfect ringmaster’s voice; the first time they met, Rolf the Wolf, the ringmaster for Circus of the Superstars, or COTS (which closed down in 2020 and has no plans to start up again, but there are plenty of circus performers out that will entertain us all for years to come), had said to him, “I think you’re giving me a run for my money!” “Sounds like it,” said Limbani, “but I could never top you.” Indeed, Toppet’s own citizens loved COTS as much as Migoto Circus (Limbani’s circus), and agreed with the rest of the world that Rolf deserved to be hailed as the greatest furry ringmaster of all time. (I couldn’t tell you who the greatest human ringmaster of all time is, but whoever it was deserved it, believe me.) Now the kingdom has another circus, known as Daifuku Circus, with the music led by a crocodile bandleader named Beauregard Severin, but even he says the greatest ringmaster that ever lived was Rolf, and the ringmaster of Daifuku Circus, a coyote named Francois Sarfati, agrees. (Limbani’s bandleader is a dragon named Alto D. Do. Both Alto and Beauregard are distinguished drummers and percussionists in their own rights, and frequently beat drum rolls on their drums when the moment is appropriate while standing next to the ringmaster as he makes his announcement.) ------------------- It should therefore be no surprise at all to anybody that Blue took a great interest in WBC’s most successful (yet simultaneously the most expensive) children’s show ever made, “The Adventures of Drummer Dog.” This is a show designed to teach the youngsters basic music theory and musical concepts, and even throws in some life lessons along the way. It was targeted by those fighting for political correctness because they were angry at the decision made to cast a number of the main characters as half-naked animals (they had the top part of their bodies covered, but not the bottom part), but anybody who protested against anything for any reason was dying, because CNG saw all protests as disturbance of the peace, one of the biggest crimes in its books. (If there was anything CNG did most consistently, it was violating the Constitution of the United States.) In the end, it ran a total of 78 episodes, but the expense was ultimately why it was cancelled in the end. Today, the network is at work doing an entirely CGI remake of the show, employing the same cast as before, and re-recording all dialogue and music with a full orchestra. (Previously, synthesizers and sound modules had to be used, apart from the military field drum that Drummer Dog played.) The characters that were half-naked will still be that way, but this time, nobody is protesting anything. After all, the mascot of D.A.R.E., Daren the Lion, does this; he wears a t-shirt, but no pants. (He frequently performs in a drum major uniform the same way.) The actor’s real name was David Olson, and he was one of nine siblings that all played together as the Golden Fife and Drum Corps. (If you haven’t already guessed, the dogs are golden retrievers.) In short, here is the full lineup, including their G-52 codenames: ----------- [b]Drummer Dog 1:[/b] David Olson, also known as Air Force Drummer Dog [b]Drummer Dog 2:[/b] Dalton Olson, also known as Army Drummer Dog [b]Drummer Dog 3:[/b] Darcy Olson, also known as Navy Drummer Dog [b]Drummer Dog 4:[/b] Dennis Olson, also known as Marine Corps Drummer Dog (sometimes just Marine Drummer Dog) [b]Drummer Dog 5:[/b] Dwayne Olson, also known as Coast Guard Drummer Dog [b]Fifer Dog 1:[/b] Darius Olson [b]Fifer Dog 2:[/b] Dean Olson [b]Fifer Dog 3:[/b] Dawson Olson [b]Fifer Dog 4:[/b] Damian Olson -------------- The five drummers each employ the military branch they were once in as part of their codename. Dalton had served in both the regular Army and the Army Corps of Engineers when he wasn’t drumming, and so when he first met Zachary Chandler, he said, “It’s nice to meet a fellow engineer who also beats a drum and leads parades.” (Zachary commands the U.S. Coyote Drum and Bugle Corps, a corps otherwise entirely consisting of Drumbum Coyotes, and all of which live in the same hometown he comes from: Norfolk, Virginia, USA.) Note that David, Dalton, and Darcy are the dogs that play the military field drums (rope-tensioned snare drums), while Dennis and Dwayne play the bass drums. The first three on the military field drums were originally the ones that were G-52s, while the rest were just allies for the time being. However, Super C decided it was best to upgrade the other six dogs to serve as actual G-52s, and so we had the ceremony done in Washington, D.C., after the dogs performed as part of a parade that welcomed the latest parallels of Leo the Patriotic Lion to the United States, since they are serving as ambassadors to the country. (If one of Leo’s parallels is a head of state, a different G-52 serves as the ambassador.) The dogs first met Blue and Pink and played some music with them, wearing their trademark blue-and-gold circus-style drum major uniforms (pants included). They also surprised the duo with a visit from Franz Jefferson II, the dragon that was in charge of the show’s music, writing a good chunk of it (alongside the dogs), and working with the sound modules to make the music, since the show didn’t have the budget to employ a full orchestra. Together, we made wonderful music, and out of habit, Blue and Pink shape shifted from human form to one of their animal forms, the tiger cubs in this case. Today, the dogs appeared with the dragon again, but the dragon was dressed differently, wearing business causal, while the dogs appeared in military uniforms. Please note that the four fifers, Darius, Dean, Dawson, and Damian, have no military experience whatsoever. But to make it easier, they purchased custom uniforms from “Uniforms ‘R’ Us,” so that Darius was also dressed like an active service member of the Air Force, while Dean was pretending to be an Army soldier, Dawson a Navy sailor, and Damian a Marine. (They would have been willing to serve in our military, but in the end, it didn’t materialize.) “Hello,” Blue called when the dogs and dragon entered my USA room. (My USA room is my master bedroom decorated from top to bottom with all things Americana, such as Old Glory. It doubles as my music room, and it can hold tons of percussion instruments, and has enough room for a full chorus and orchestra to perform. Although the acoustics aren’t so great, it was never meant to be a performance venue unless the musical payroll system was having us film something for them.) The dogs still carried their drums and fifes, even though they were wearing their military uniforms. Also, Blue was appearing as a bear this time, while Pink was still her human self. And as always, all the animals (including me) appeared barefoot, even though the rest of the uniform was there. “Hello, Blue,” David greeted. “Thank you for performing with us yesterday.” “My pleasure. And hello to you, Franz,” Blue continued. “Hi there,” said Franz. “I remember the day we first met you two on set; you in particular, Blue, got excited about the digital sound modules I was using. Well, I was using them for budgetary reasons.” “We’re working on a new fully-animated version of the same thing,” David added, “remaking the original episodes with new stories to go with them, and this time, we have a full orchestra.” “That might be even better,” Blue agreed. “We like it better that way,” Dwayne nodded. “Yet we had to make do with what we could. It might interest you to know, though, that while David was the star of the show, all of us had something to do with it musically.” “And some other behind-the-scenes jobs, too,” Dean added. “I worked in the costume department, for example.” “And I was in charge of the CGI effects,” Damian put in. “It was live action against a green screen, after all. By the way, what made you have such a big interest in those digital modules?” “They’re a way for me to compose my own music if I can’t get real performers involved, due to cost,” said Blue. “Do you write your own music?” asked Dalton. “Yes, sir. I’ve done a few songs.” “May we hear one?” “Yes, sir, but I’ll need a record player.” Blue held up a record containing his own music and looked at me. “I’ll be right back,” I said, and I walked upstairs to get a portable record player I owned, and then brought it back. (I live in a raised ranch house, by the way, and my USA room is on the bottom level.) When I brought it back, we listened to the song Blue had written, with the flute as the primary instrument. (Whereas Pink only played flutes, Blue would sometimes beat a bass drum of his own, mainly because the lion that was the king of Toppet, King Santos, challenged him to try something new. Santos himself was a trumpeter, showing that the Toppet Kingdom truly loved music.) Even Franz was clapping when the song finished. “How was it?” Blue asked. “You do a wonderful job with music,” Franz smiled. “We’re all very proud of you,” Damian added. “Thank you, all!” Blue smiled as he took a bow. “You’re welcome.” “What musical genre tends to do the best in your homeland of Toppet?” “Like most others, pop.” “Interesting. We knew you loved your marching bands, and in our case, the fife and drum corps.” Blue nodded. ---------------- Later, the dogs had another question for Blue. “Another question for you, Blue,” said David as he placed his field drum on a stand so he could play the drum. “As you well know, when drums were on the field of battle, the signals the drummers played mattered. You couldn’t beat the wrong signal, or your side was bound to lose. Listen to the drum signals I will perform for you now, all of which come from the First American Civil War.” “Yes, sir.” Blue snapped to attention as David played and explained each signal. Then the dog said, “These were all First American Civil War drum calls. Did the soldiers of your homeland of Toppet use these same signals, or did they use their own?” “We had our own, but I don’t remember them. All I know is that the reptiles always played. Very rarely did we see mammals. But now, it’s becoming more common.” “All your military drummers were almost always reptiles? Why is that?” “They hold a slim majority here.” “So Toppet has more reptiles than any other animal, or humans; is that correct?” Dwayne asked. “Currently, yes.” “Do you have a good dragon population in Toppet?” asked Franz. “We do.” Franz nodded. “If ever we were to visit there, what would we expect to see, in terms of being a tourist?” Darcy asked. “We’re known for our beautiful scenery.” “Excellent,” said Dennis. “The nine of us do love to commune with nature at times. We’ll even take our music to nature.” “What are you?” David asked. “A democracy, monarchy, or something else?” (The dogs didn’t know this at the time.) “We’re a constitutional monarchy,” said Blue. “Lions are the ones ruling the kingdom, although our Prime Minister is a tiger.” (He didn’t mention the names, though.) “You have a royal family?” said Dean. “That’s interesting. All the royalty we’ve met are the four Forsythian monarchs: King Leo V (Kriegland), King Lionel XVIII (Leonine), King Lacklund VII (1776), and King Ross II (Ratatat). “And just as you Americans have your Pledge of Allegiance,” Blue continued, “we have our own as well. This is how it goes: ‘We pledge to our flag as loyal Toppetians, allegiance to the constitutional monarchy. For the future, for our freedom, for our liberty! Oh, great Toppet Kingdom. Where one land fulfills us all.’” To show their appreciation, David played a drum roll, and Blue saluted him at its end. David saluted back. ---------------- The big announcement (the point of this journal entry as well) then came when a drawing fell off my desk. “Whoops,” I said as I picked it up. “Sorry about that.” “I didn’t know you could draw,” said David. “I do; it’s how I relax,” I said. “Sometimes I draw with Blue, actually.” The dogs and Franz looked at the drawing and saw that it was a drawing of Limbani. Although he sometimes emceed the circus in his drum major uniform he wore, the drawing showed him wearing a traditional ringmaster’s outfit. (Both Limbani and Rolf alternated between the ringmaster uniform and the drum major uniform, since they led the bands in big parades.) “A ringmaster?” “Yes,” I said. “This is Limbani Merito, the ringmaster of Migoto Circus. It’s another main attraction of Toppet, and I had the pleasure of meeting him last time me and my three bands were there.” “That’s interesting,” said Dean. Then he turned to Blue and said, “Did you know the nine of us used to open for Rolf and COTS as part of their patriotic atmosphere they insisted on having?” “I never knew that, but that’s great to know,” Blue replied. “It’s a shame they don’t exist anymore. But I understand why. Circus attendance was declining, and some of the performers couldn’t take the strain of it anymore.” (This was especially true of Gerry Gurdetha, who took the name “Daredevil Bear” as his codename when Super C made him a G-52. Doing the motorcycle acts and being shot out of the cannon was taking a toll on his health, and when he retired after one final launch—which he did as part of the pre-race ceremonies of a NASCAR race—he wrote his autobiography, entitled “BOOM! Confessions of a Circus Cannonball.” Then he took a part-time job at the DMV to help get himself back in the working habit, but he doesn’t work there now. When the circus performers became G-52s, CNG boosted their abilities so that they could easily come out of retirement, but they insisted on letting other circus performers have the limelight.) “At least their legacy lives on since their musicians still perform,” said David, and he went on to make the big announcement. “It might be worth knowing that upon remembering how we used to open for Rolf, Limbani very kindly invited him and all the members of COTS to one day visit the Toppet Kingdom and see his circus, and after some discussion, he invited us to join them as well.” “And that’s not all,” said Dwayne. “There’s also that performing group of animals who call themselves ‘The Circus World Jamboree,’ and Limbani invited them to the show as well.” (Cripto’s army included not just cartoon and video game characters ranging from Snagglepuss to Sonic the Hedgehog, but also characters that previously just existed in the form of animatronics, but were now real-life anthro animals living in our world. The obvious one in that category is Chuck E. Cheese and Munch’s Make-Believe Band, but we also had lesser-known groups to come life, such as the Rock-a-fire Explosion. The Circus World Jamboree was a more recent entry to the allies, as well as a Dixieland group, Daniel and the Dixie Diggers, another all-dog group. The latest one was Ursula and the Oompapas, which was a European folk ensemble that had a human being [Ursula] and four bears.) Blue’s smile turned into a wide grin, and he beamed with excitement. --------------------- Then the impromptu Q & A session continued. The dogs were very curious about Blue’s homeland. “Do you have any other circuses besides that one?” Dean then asked. “We also have Daifuku Circus,” said Blue. “Who is in charge of that one?” asked Dwayne. “The band is led by a crocodile by the name of Beauregard Severin, while the ringmaster is a coyote named Francois Sarfati.” “Do these two circuses have a friendly relationship with one another?” “They do. They love to promote one another.” “When people come to see Migoto Circus,” David continued, “which of the acts tends to get the biggest amount of applause?” “For Migoto,” said Blue, “it’s usually a tie between the strongman and the tightrope walkers.” “Interesting. Rolf told us that the trapeze acts usually got the biggest amount of applause in his circus.” “Even more miraculous to us,” Dwayne added, “is the fact that the circus Rolf led never had a single performance accident or injury in its whole history. Any injuries were all rehearsal injuries, and they were just minor ones that could heal on their own.” “Wow; that is amazing.” Blue took a moment to reflect on that incredible statistic. (Rolf later confirmed this to me as truth. “If it wasn’t a CNG effect,” I said, “it may have been something else, but I can’t think of what; still, be grateful for that.”) Then he remembered something. “Oh. I almost forgot. This is our national anthem.” He played it on his special Flute of Time (an ocarina to be precise). We clapped briefly, and David made Blue smile even more by kindly saying, “Thank you for letting us hear that; that was very enlightening.” ---------------- After Blue left to go home later on, Limbani sent me a message to confirm that he had also invited the animals of CWJ to the circus, both the band and performers. The idea was to have Migoto and Daifuku perform as one bigger circus, and have the guests perform what they could do, so the dogs in the Golden Fife and Drum Corps would perform as an interval act. (Alto and Beauregard were planning to have the bands play alongside them, but we wouldn’t be able to work the bugs out until we arrived in Toppet.) CWJ, though, chose to display just one of its acts: Mighty Mack the Mouse, who doubled as a trapeze artist and as the strongman act. (He just doesn’t do both at the same time.) In due time, we’d get all the bugs worked out, but for now, we just rested up and dreamed about the big day. I’ll be sharing the big day itself with you in a future journal entry, so stay tuned, everybody. Thank you so much, and have a wonderful, patriotic, music-filled day. ---------- [color=white][b]THE END[/b][/color]