#I just didn't want to have three Clumby headcanons in a row

[shwoo]

Grumpus Headcanons (3/3)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Here is all 1,100 words of headcanons for every Bugsnax character relationship I can think of from before the expedition. Every character relationship closer than Filbo and Eggabell, or Chandlo and Floofty, anyway. I don't think either of those pairs knew each other very well.

The Clumby and Journalist one is basically a summary of a fanfic I wrote (about what Clumby was thinking during the game's intro). The headcanon list came first, but I am very uneven about finishing things.

Relationship Headcanons

Jamfoot and Clumby He likes her and considers her a friend, but in a selfish kind of way, where he doesn't care if she's happy or not, and doesn't really respect her as a person. She thinks he's an idiot who ruined her life, and resents him for it. She also thinks that he saved her life, which is probably true, so her feelings are complicated. They do a trivia night together every couple of weeks, which Clumby enjoys but would never admit. I think that because it would be a funny thing for Jamfoot to act betrayed about if Clumby switched sides to Team Desperate Loser (that's what I call the main characters). Did trivia night mean nothing???

Bronica and Clumby Clumby had a crush on Bronica, which was part of the reason she went with her to Snaktooth. They'd already met when Clumby interviewed her, and Clumby was desperate to prove her ability to handle dangerous situations. So going on a secret expedition with her celebrity crush to a mystery death island seemed like a great idea at the time. Bronica was aware of Clumby's feelings, but she was in her 60s and Clumby was in her 20s, and Bronica saw her more as closer to her preteen granddaughter.

Bronica and Triffany Bronica nominally lived with Triffany and her more immediate relatives, but wasn't around much. She did take Triffany on some safer expeditions, and promised she'd take her along on a full adventure when she was old enough. But then Bronica disappeared. She definitely wanted to bring something back from Snaktooth for her. Probably talked to Clumby about it.

Chandlo and Snorpy From Chandlo's perspective, they got together soon after Snorpy was fired from his government job. Snorpy had just had a mental breakdown as a result of everything that was happening and dropped out of contact with Chandlo. Chandlo managed to get back in touch a month or so later, and being around him helped Snorpy feel like himself again. Chandlo deliberately didn't use the boyfriend word because he doesn't want to stress Snorpy out by moving too fast, but he assumed Snorpy did know they were dating.

Clumby and Journalist Clumby is very well-known in journalist circles, and the Journalist admires her work and considers her a big influence. They think she's a little inflexible and old-fashioned, but mostly their opinion of her is positive. Clumby thinks the Journalist is a good writer, but bad at picking what to write about. Her attitude in the opening cutscene was a bit more hostile than she usually is towards them, because she was stressed from watching Lizbert's video, but she was legitimately angry about their previous failures. The Journalist noticed that she was acting weird, but thought she was just out of coffee or something. She'd already decided to fire them by the time they insisted on going, and was trying to be nice by not telling them, since she realised she couldn't stop them. As she mentions at the end of the game, she thought they were definitely going to die, so she didn't think they'd ever have to find out.

Eggabell and Lizbert Their official status is "partners". They could get married if they want to, because homophobia isn't really a thing in this universe and any consenting adults can get marreid, but they both find the concept stifling, for different reasons. The idea of marriage sets off Eggabell's self-loathing because she associates it with going back to her old life and being alone and unfulfilled again. She's never articulated it clearly enough to notice the really obvious contradiction there. But Lizbert just really hates rules and conventions on principle.

Eggabell and Wiggle Eggabell was a fan of Wiggle's music first, and got Lizbert into it. She was also the one who wanted to be backstage for Wiggle's first farewell tour, though as Wiggle mentions during her interview, Lizbert is the one who actually broke in. Eggabell has all of Wiggle's albums, and is still kind of starstruck around her. Wiggle thinks Eggabell is very sweet, but also keeps forgetting that Eggabell actually likes her non Do The Wiggle work. She is extremely insecure about her other work.

Filbo and Lizbert Lizbert likes Filbo as much as he likes her, and she genuinely admires his commitment to making other people happy. She asked him to help with the settlement both because she wanted her friend there, and because she thought he'd be better at community stuff than she was. When Lizbert's big Gumpus Atlantis thing turned out to be a hoax, Filbo sent her a bunch of encouraging letters, though she was too mopey to look at them until Eggabell made her.

Floofty and Snorpy I think there's a lot of in-game evidence that Floofty and Snorpy used to be close, so that's not a headcanon exactly, but I also think that Floofty is three years older than Snorpy, and that Snorpy absolutely idolised them when he was younger. He grew out of that as a preteen, to Floofty's confusion. From their point of view, their little brother thinking they were cool was just an immutable law of the universe. But they stayed close for another ten to fifteen years, until their estrangement over the evil government stuff. When they do work together, they are very efficient, and tend to talk to each other in fast, incomplete sentences that confuse everyone else present.

Lizbert and Wiggle They stayed in contact after their first meeting, and related to each other's issues with getting famous and then repeatedly failing to produce a followup. They were talking soon after Lizbert's first Snaktooth trip, and Wiggle mentioned how desperate she was for inspiration, giving Lizbert the idea to start a settlement. She knew it was a big discovery, and she knew she wanted to use it to help people, but she hadn't been sure what exactly to do until then.

Triffany and Wambus They met while Triffany was studying the area near his farm as part of her PhD. She was married at the time, but no cheating was involved. Either they didn't get together until Triffany was single, or Triffany's ex did that thing where one partner wants to open up the relationship because they're bored, and the other partner reluctantly agrees, but then meets someone who actually likes them. The game already has the other heartwarming relationship anecdote that tends to show up online, with Chandlo and Snorpy, and Snorpy not realising they were dating, so it might as well also have this. I don't know if I want Triffany to have an abusive relationship in her backstory, though. But also, the idea of that happening and then Triffany meeting someone who genuinely wants to listen to her go on and on about the fall of Grumpus Rome or whatever, and won't tell her she's annoying… It's very appealing.