::A slightly nervous human in a tux walks out on stage—tall, average looks, and also pretty bad eyesight since he walks across the stage and off the other end of it. Pulling himself back onto the stage he nods to the audience and takes the podium::

 

John: I'm John Pesterfield, and I'm here to present three awards tonight. I'm a little worried since one of them is the villain award. Those can be hard to judge due to fear. Let's jump right in. My first presentation is for Best Characterization of the Rangers. Generally when writing a character you can have this.

 

::He pulls a cardboard cutout of Dale on stage::

 

John: You could also follow the series.

 

::The monitor behind him shows a short Dale scene::

 

John: Finally the very best can go beyond that and make truly distinct and living characters, even beyond the series.

 

::Dale rose, expecting to be pointed out, but Pesterfield just keeps talking::

John: The nominees for Best Characterization of the Rangers are:

 

Claw&Antler: Small Animals Unit - Small Town Heroes”, by Rennod

“Plots”, by Matt Plotecher
“Sovereign”, by John Nowak

“The Tin Mouse”, by Julie Bihn

“The Untold Ranger Tales” (All Parts), by Indy & Chris Silva

John: The winner’s John Nowak, for Sovereign!

 

::Medium Shot of the stage. Widget enters, stage left, to polite applause. Cut to closer in on her as she approaches the podium::

Widget: Thank you. I'm afraid John couldn't be here to accept this award, so I persuaded him to let me go instead. If you're watching, John, the negatives are in the box where your camera was before I needed it.

::Pan audience, chuckling politely at the joke. End on Jürgen and Gimcrack, Gimcrack wondering what the joke is::

::Cut to Widget, waxing philosophical::

Widget: This award is a bit unusual, because it basically means that John wrote something where the Rangers acted like themselves. Naturally, this only makes sense if we assume that the Rangers are fictional.

::Cut to: Rangers, glancing uncomfortably at one another, wondering if they are fictional::

::Cut to: Widget::

Widget: This is particularly interesting for me, because it raises the question of the foundation of morality. If we exist only in the minds of those who write us, then surely we cannot be held responsible for our actions, which are predetermined by someone who is not us.

::Cut to: Audience, looking thoughtful. Jürgen looks worried::

::Cut to: Widget, who smiles::

Widget: By accepting this award, I renounce good and evil. Thank you.

::Slow pan of audience, clapping uncertainly. John escorts Widget off the stage, glad that she didn’t do anything wilder than she did::