Griddlebone’s backstory headcanons
I decided that I love my headcanons too much to NOT share them! Hehehehe...
“Growltiger’s Last Stand” as performed by Gus is based on a true story, though is very much an abridged version. Here is the true tale (or how I like to imagine it, anyways!):
The real Griddlebone had been born from the union between an upper-class pedigree tom and a common street queen. Her father was ashamed of his association to them, especially since Griddlebone had inherited her sire’s pristine white coat.
Griddlebone helped her poor mother get by with her angelic voice; she sang in the streets for scraps of food. Her voice became the envy of many queens, and the object of desire for many more toms.
Although she had many suitors, her heart truly belonged to a scrappy Siamese tom named Tam. He was a travelling sailor, and told Griddlebone all about his adventures in all the places he had been. He didn’t treat her like an item or accessory as so many other high-class toms did, but rather as a real person. He didn’t treat her like a frail china doll, but as the tough-as-nails queen that she really was.
She grew in fame and fortune, being invited to clubs and parties to perform for ever-growing audiences. Griddlebone became proud of herself, but proud mostly that she could give her hardworking mother the life she deserved. Her life was almost perfect--she just wished that Tam, who had become her closest friend, didn’t have to be away so much. Every time he pulled into port for a visit made Griddlebone’s heart sing. He always talked about taking Griddlebone with him, but she needed to stay behind to care for her mother.
Then, everything changed when the pirates attacked. (I’m sorry, I had to do it! XD)
Growltiger’s crew raided her town in the middle of the night. Griddlebone awoke to the sound of a crash, the smell of smoke, and the sight of the notoriously ruthless captain, Growltiger.
“Please, we’ll give you anything you want!” Griddlebone begged, knowing that she wouldn't be able to fight him. Although she could put up a decent fight, she knew that trying to overpower the pirate would be a futile effort. “All of our treasure; it’s yours if you just leave us be.”
“You’re quite mistaken, my dear,” Growltiger growled. “You’re the treasure I’m after!”
Growltiger and his crew kidnapped Griddlebone, and as she was forced onto the ship, she watched with tears in her eyes as her home burned to the ground.
Tam, who did happen to be in town at the time, saw Growltiger taking Griddlebone, and in an impulsive fit of anger, lunged and attacked. Growltiger was taken by surprise as the scrawny tom bit and tore through his ear. He quickly recovered and slammed Tam to the ground, knocking him out cold.
As she was taken on board, Griddlebone wept and wept, her tears watering the planks of her new prison. She didn’t know if her mother was alive, or if Tam would be okay. Days passed, and her heart grew heavier and heavier.
Every day, Growltiger asked Griddlebone to marry him. Every day, Griddlebone refused. She stayed inside her room all day, coming out only when Growltiger explicitly ordered her to so she could sing for him.
Escape seemed impossible; she couldn’t very well swim all the way back home. Still she tried to hold on to hope. At night, when the crew slept, Griddlebone sang her sorrow out to the ocean, mourning for everything she had lost, and her desire to be free.
One night, Growltiger caught her singing. He was sick of waiting for her to agree to marry him; if she didn’t say yes to him right then, he would throw her overboard. “I’d like to hear you sing with your lungs full of water,” he threatened.
That’s when they heard wood creak as a newcomer made his presence known. Or rather newcomerS.
Unbeknownst to either of them, a crew of Siamese sailors snuck up on them, taking them completely by surprise.
And Griddlebone’s silent, locked heart sang once again as she laid her eyes upon Tam.
Tam and his crew outnumbered Growltiger, and they quickly overpowered them into either surrendering or, in Growltiger’s case, walking the plank.
Reunited once more, Griddlebone ran to Tam held onto him for dear life, finally feeling safe after so long.
“How did you find me?” she asked through her tears.
“I never stopped looking for you,” Tam said, gently brushing her tears away. “ And tonight, I heard your song. I thought I was dreaming, but I followed it back to you, and--”
“--And we’re together,” Griddlebone. She smiled for the first time in a long time. “And we’ll never be apart again.”
Tam broke the news to Griddlebone that her mother had indeed died. Although she was sad, she took comfort in the fact that she had been able to give her mother a good life. It was time for her to live her own life, now--a life with Tam, wherever the sea would take them.
Griddlebone spent the rest of her life journeying and singing all around the world with Tam.
