#ORIGINALLY i was gonna do this with chandlo and snorpy

[jenevipcoraz]

draw fizzleblog yuri

lottabean nation rise up

[janknabobfdi]

Bugsnaxronpa - Bugsnax but the wheel decides their fate

I got bored and decided to do the "Danganronpa Wheel" trend but with Bugsnax characters and I really liked the story I got and came up with

(Daganronpa is a murder mystery game where Hope's Peak Academy students with "Ultimate" talents are trapped in an area where they have to get away with murder to escape)

I'll be sharing my live reaction and well as the story me and the wheel came up with

Prologue - 16 grumpuses find themselves trapped in Snaktooth Island. Monosnak announces that they have to get away with murder to escape and "graduate"

They also find a mysterious amnesiac Grumpus wbo doesn't remember their talent, He goes by the nickname "Buddy"

Also Filbo is the Ultimate Lucky Student, i refuse to give his incompetent the title of Ultimate Mayor

Now to roll for our protagonist

Protag - Snorpington Fizzlebean, Ultimate Engineer

(Snorpy protag? Hype as hell! He's my second favorite character)

(Snorpy would make for a good protag. He is smart... but he's a conspiracy nut, Probably thinks the Grumpinati is behind the killing game)

Now for the support/deuteragonist

Support - Gramble Gigglefunny, Ultimate Rancher

(Interesting... Gramble is kind and helpful, I didn't expect that but I can see it. Although I don't see him helping in the class trials very much)

Now for our rival/antagonist

Rival - Wambus Troubleham, Ultimate Farmer

(Hmm... I feel like his rivalry is mostly from Gramble and Wambus already hating each other. Since Gramble is our support he might argue with us by proxy)

Hmm... Interesting main trio so far, I really Snorpy as the protagonist. I see him initially thinking that the Grumpinati is behind the killing game

Chapter One

Who's gonna be the first victim?

Ch1 Victim - Floofty Fizzlebean, Ultimate Scientist

(WHAT? HOLY SHIT! I swear I didn't plan this! It's always the childhood friend/closest to the protag that dies first!)

(The protagonist's estranged sibling is like the PERFECT first victim)

(Wow... Their death will make Snorpy feel conflicted, He hates them but he still cares about them as a sibling)

Hell, I think the Fizzlebeans WERE planning on repairing their relationship but it got cut short

(Damn, i wonder who killed them)

Ch1 Killer - Shelda Woolbag, Ultimate Herbalist

(Huh... Why tho? Hmm... I guess I have to come up with a scenario for this, I won't come up with a murder method tho... That takes too much brain power for me)

Scenario: I think Shelda was planning on defeating/killing the mastermind, she tries to get Floofty's help

However Floofty doesn't take her seriously since Shelda still doesn't drop her persona, infuriating Floofty

(They already kinda hate each other in the original game, With Floofty being a person of science and Shelda having her whole "oracle" persona)

They get into an argument and Shelda ends up accidentally killing Floofty

(Wow, Off to a great start with Floofty as the first victim)

Now for chapter 2

Ch2 Victim - Gramble Gigglefunny, Ultimate Rancher

(Oh wow, a decoy support? That's interesting)

I was gonna roll for a new support, but I think Snorpy having two people close to him die will make his paranoid conspiracy theorist brain act up and think that the killing game is targeting him and anyone he's close to, so he tries to avoid getting close to anyone else in this game

This is a pretty good set up for a character arc

He might even distance himself from Chandlo to protect him, Which will hurt Chandlo as he hates seeing his boyfriend grow more distant

(Like in the canon game where he doesn't let Chandlo in on his plans fearing that the conspiracy will target him)

Ch2 Killer - Triffany Lottablog, Ultimate Archeologist

(Wow... Wambus even included her in the rivalry, Huh)

The motive this time is something like the "secrets" motive from the first game but this time it's notes that say "Worst thing someone else did to you/you did to someone else" and every note will get revealed if a murder doesn't occur in a few days

Gramble and Wambus get each other's notes, this makes their rivalry even worse

Wambus ends up trying to kill Gramble but then Triffany ends up interfering and killing Gramble to stop Wambus from being the blackened

Now for chapter 3 victims

(There's always a double murder in chapter three but I'll leave the first victim when I spin for a second victim and if it lands on the same person I'll only have one victim)

[I forgot to screenshot the other one whoops]

Ch3 Victims - Alegander Jamfoot, "Ultimate Barista" and Clumby Clumbernut, Ultimate Editor

I'm thinking that Snorpy finds out about their involvement with the Snakolites, gets suspicious of them... Then gets ULTRA PARANOID when it seems like the "Grumpinati" has "silenced them"

"Two Snakolite members getting killed at the same time? Right after they get exposed? Coincidence? I THINK NOT!"

"There has to be a secret Grumpinati traitor among us who killed them because the Snakolites and the Grumpinati are in cahoots!!!"

(What a coincidence that the two victims were Snakolites members, That gives me an easy motive)

Now for our third killer

Ch3 Killer - Beffica Winklesnoot, Ultimate Information Specialist

(The more I think about it... Her talent is just a glorified way of saying "gossiper" so her knowing things that should be secret is easy for her)

Beffica snooped and found out about Alegander and Clumby's relation to the Snakolites, a group she is VERY suspicious of

"What the hell is all this talking about "eating incests" and "food parasites"???"

"And why does the barista guy have a secret base on this island???"

"And why does he make worse coffee than ME shouldn't he be an Ultimate???"

She eventually find out about Alegander's real talent as the "Ultimate Cryptoentomological Researcher" and gets VERY suspicious of him

She tried to anonymously warn the group about their involvement since she thinks that the Snakolites are behind the killing game

However Alegander and Clumby twart her attempts to warn the group, the only one she succeeds in warning is Snorpy

Beffica thinks that Alegander and Clumby are going to "silence her" so she takes matters into her own hands

(Maybe at this point he finds out that the Snakolites were mostly benevolent and maybe even starts doubting his conspiracy theories)

Wow, This wheel is making an interesting plot

Time for the 4th chapter

(Please god if Chandlo dies from "Chapter 4 Buff Guy" syndrome I will be pissed)

Ch4 Victim - Wiggle Wigglebottom, Ultimate Musician

(Hmm... Interesting I guess... Wasn't what I was expecting)

[I'm sorry but I forgot to screenshot the wheel again]

Ch4 Killer - Cromdo Face, Ultimate Salesman

(Hmm...)

So Wiggle is a musician and Cromdo wants to succeed in the music industry

Monosnak says that the motive is a million dollars and a talentswap! Where the blackened gains the title of their victim

So if Filbo killed Snorpington, Filbo will start being called "The Ultimate Engineer"

Crombo kills Wiggle to get the money and her musical talent.

But the talentswap is actually in name only, all Cromdo got is the TITLE of Ultimate Musician, he doesn't actually get Wiggle's talent

(And plus Wiggle isn't that talented anyways, She just had a one hit wonder)

It seems like the scammer has become the "scam-ee"

[I forgot the screenshot the wheel, Which I heavily regret for reasons you will see why later]

Ch5 Victim - Eggabell Batternugget, Ultimate Doctor

(I wonder who killed her)

[I hate myself for not screenshoting who the wheel decided the killer is... Because you won't believe when I say that the wheel decided THIS to be her killer...]

Ch5 Killer - Lizbert Megafig, Ultimate Explorer

(....)

(Wait... What???)

(THIS WHEEL IS FUCKING HOMOPHOBIC)

(WHY DID THEY MAKE THE LESBIANS KILL EACH OTHER???)

(Now I hate myself for not screenshoting the wheel)

(HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO COME UP WITH A SCENARIO FOR THIS)

Okay... I think... This is a [DRA SPOILERS] thing

I think that Eggabell has been feeling VERY bad about herself from all the deaths

As the Ultimate Doctor she's been performing autopsies, has been the medic and trying to stop murders from happening, Hell she's even stopped attempted murders by healing the would-be victims

But after nine people died she starts blaming herself for "not being enough"

So she decides to try and "make herself useful" by making EVERYONE the blackened so they can graduate

She manipulates the situation so that everyone has equal involvement in her death (just like nagito but crazier)

But in her final moments Monosnak tells her that there can only be ONE blackened no matter what, And that he'll decide who is the one true blackened

So in her final moments, As she's bleeding out, she thinks that it's better that SHE decides who gets to graduate

She tells Lizbert to "get her some medicine" that's actually poison, Making Lizbert the "true blackened"

But Lizbert ends up confessing to the murder and accepts her execution as "graduating" would mean condemning everyone to die, Something Eggabell would never want

Huh... That was sad and emotional

It's chapter 6 time! Time to reveal the mastermind

(I put all the dead participants back since having the mastermind fake their death pretty cool, A call back to Junko)

Mastermind - Floofty Fizzlebean

(No fucking way...)

(NO FUCKING WAY!!!)

(I am speechless...)

(TBH secretly in the back of my head I was hoping for this but OH MY FUCKING GOD)

(Imagine how Snorpy feels)

He had a whole arc about realizing that the Grumpinati isn't real and can't hurt him THEN HE LEARNS THAT HIS ESTRANGED SIBLING IS THE FUCKING MASTERMIND

I was gonna have the mastermind fake their death but maybe Shelda's plan to kill the mastermind DID WORK because FLOOFTY WAS THE MASTERMIND, and that the whole game has been running on autopilot the whole time (hell, we know that Floofty is perfectly willing to sacrifice herself for science™)

(I feel like Chandlo being alive is the only thing stopping him from a regression arc)

What were their motivations? Is the entire killing game a wakeup call to get their brother to stop being an agoraphobic conspiracy nut? Is this a big experiment?

Who knows! The only one who can answer these questions is fucking DEAD

All the survivors have left are some vague notes they left behind

Buddy regains his memories, Remembers that he's the Ultimate Journalist and that there's a ship on the island that he can fix

They all get on the ship and get home as the island fucking explodes because I need the ending to be more climactic

Survivors: "Buddy" (Ultimate Journalist), Chandlo Funkbun (Ultimate Carpenter), Snorpington Fizzlebean (Ultimate Engineer), Filbo Fiddlepie (Ultimate Lucky Student) and Wambus Troubleham (Ultimate Farmer)

(I'm glad that Chandlo and Snorpy survive)

I swear to god I didn't rig any of the results

The wheel made decisions that felt like an actual writer would make

The wheel chose the smartest character as the protagonist, followed the Danganronpa trope of having an idiot survivor (Filbo), the protagonist's estranged sibling as the first victim and also CHOSE THEM AS THE MASTERMIND

I'm half convinced the wheel is sentient

[j4zz4lop3]

Chandlo has husky energy “u wanna go outside? U wanna go on walkies? I wanna go on walkies plsplsplsplspls”

Wambus has saint bernard energy, big and scary but actually just droopy

Cromdo has the energy of one of those small, scruffy immortal dogs who keep getting almost eaten by bigger creatures eat garbage and get near run over by cars but still somehow survive, and are also insanely evil and out to kill you

Beffica has the energy of a yorkshaire terrier, those that wear litte bows on their head, named “princess” or “lily” or something and they’re the loudest, most temperamental, needy ankle-biting monsters

Filbo has the energy of a french bulldog, stubby little legs, get tired a lot, goofy lil goober who would absolutely die without you, both in the emotional sence and phisisically they wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild

Snorpy and Floofty are both cats, not dogs, but they’re the 2 specific different types of cat, Floofty is the kind of cat that would never let you touch them or else they bite your hand off, knock everything off of counters and pretty much only still living with you for the food. Snorpy is the kind of cat that falls asleep on your keyboard as youre working and you can’t move it because it’s gonna wake up, brings you little leafs as gifts and finds a way to open the door by itself to sleep with you

Lizbert is a border collie, adventurous, stronger than it looks, will beg and whimper for you to play tug with it only to nearly rip your arm off

Gramble has the energy of an old, graying cuddle-loving spaniel and that is not just because his hat reminds me of the long fluffy ears, loves sleeping next to you but will use anything that’s not a chew toy as a chew toy.

Wiggle has the energy of a fox terrier, source: i have one, super high energy, super playful goes insane when it sees a ball, sometimes it gets so excited and runs so fast it just lands head-straight into a wall

Triffy is a mutt that keeps digging holes in the ground looking for bones but instead just ends up digging up the yard and getting all dirty

And finally, shelda has the energy of a cat that was originally an outside cat but became a house at as it got older, brown tabby, loves laying in the sun and being around people, wont stop doing the rubbing on your legs thing

And the journalist is giving chocolate lab, idk why, just yes

[shwoo]

Okay here's my thoughts about Chandlo Bugsnax and Floofty Bugsnax's relationship.

...That's their surnames now. Everyone is Bugsnax.

Anyway, Floofty and Chandlo don't have much interaction in the base game, despite being practically in-laws. Floofty calls him "that green meathead" while trying to argue that Snorpy is refusing to help them out of cowardice, so they seem pretty dismissive of him.

When you ask Chandlo to help with Floofty's experiments, he doesn't mention Snorpy at all, just says he doesn't want to help because of "what they put Eggabell through." And I could write another 700 words overanalysing that line, but that's more about Eggabell and Floofty's relationship, and what their experiments together actually entailed, so I'll skip over that. The point is that Chandlo seems annoyed with Floofty, but only over something that happened with Eggabell, not whatever Snorpy's problem with Floofty is.

The closest thing Chandlo and Floofty have to a conversation is in the sequence after the big party, where Floofty tells Eggabell not to risk her life looking for someone who's probably dead, and Chandlo responds "Dawg, Lizbert is alive! And we're not gonna leave her behind." Which is barely an interaction.

So that was all there was to go on originally. But then the DLC came out! And they went on the (Snorpy trailer line voice)miniature expedition(/Snorpy trailer line voice) together, and had actual interactions. It's also mentioned that Snorpy doesn't want Floofty to talk to Chandlo, and has sent Floofty "a pile of threatening letters" telling them to stay away from him. It's not clear if Snorpy started doing that before or after he came to the conclusion that Floofty was a Grumpinati agent.

I don't think Snorpy is actively preventing Chandlo from talking to Floofty or anything, but Chandlo knows it upsets him, and seems to have made it his life's mission to keep Snorpy from getting too stressed out. He also tells Floofty kind of reluctantly that Snorpy doesn't like him talking to them, like he doesn't really want to say it. Maybe he thought Floofty would get upset.

But once Snorpy is out of range, Chandlo starts acting really friendly towards Floofty. Maybe he wants the opportunity to get to know them better. Since he's been close to Floofty's brother for a long time, he'd know better than most people that Floofty wants to help people, not eat them. I feel like he probably wouldn't think Floofty was evil even if he wasn't already acquainted with them, though.

But Floofty just responds by patronisingly ordering him around or threatening him. I don't know if they don't like nicknames in general, don't like being nicknamed by Chandlo in particular, or don't like that it's so close to what he calls Snorpy, but they're really hostile while telling him not to call them that.

They also threaten Chandlo offscreen with "an excoriating worth of [his] fatuity", (a chewing out worthy of his stupidity) apparently because Chandlo tried to help them with their lab. They really seem to have something against Chandlo, like they had something against the Journalist.

In the Journalist's case, it's their profession, but for Chandlo… I think the answer is the bit where Chandlo gives his hypothesis ("If this island can make big Bunger, can it make big Chandlo?"), and Floofty gets upset and angrily asks him what their brother sees in him.

And maybe they're just asking how Snorpy can stand to be around someone so stupid, but I prefer to think that they specifically believe that he's too stupid to date their genius brother. They're just being protective! In a very patronising and misinformed way.

Floofty's opinion of Chandlo improves a lot after their campfire talk. I guess they realised their impression of Chandlo was wrong? Part of Floofty's plot in Bigsnax is realising that people they wrote off as stupid actually do have something to contribute if they actually talked to them. Maybe it's because Chandlo listened and engaged intelligently with their description of what happened, instead of putting Floofty in a headlock like they apparently expected.

Also, I love that bit because Chandlo's response implies that he did put Floofty in a headlock at least once, but they're cool now. I would like to know more about this.

And then they start getting along, with Floofty asking Chandlo to build… probably a giant hamster ball? And Chandlo apparently convincing Floofty not to call it the Engorged Strabbiform Orbacular Encasement like they wanted.

And then they're outright working together before the boss fight, injecting Sprout with a mystery substance, and encouraging the Journalist to mess around with the ancient technology they just found.

They're friends now. :) Reckless, reckless friends. :)

[vals-von-valentine]

Has this been done yet

Tw/blood

[cheesesteakphil]

What did you think about the update?

LORD ALMIGHTY I LOVE IT. It was everything I expected an MORE!!

In case the spoiler tag isn't working, I'll put my thoughts under a read more too just to be safe :)

My main hope was that I would be able to grow more of a fondness for Shelda, as the amount of content she had main game wasn't really substantial enough for me to get a real liking for her, but the DLC absolutely ammended that for me and now I think she's definitely one of my top favorites.

I genuinely wasn't expecting the big developmental arc that Chandlo goes through but it was really good to see! It really adds more depth into his concern over Snorpy and how to deal with it, and I loved how deeply impactful his conversation with Shelda was (and an added bonus to get a peek into how he interacts with Floofty, since they have all known each other since they were kids, but Snorpy's insistence that he doesn't talk to Floofty was the main reason for the two not having any real interaction base game)

Triffany was another surprise, as it expanded on her already established evasiveness at conflict and my GOD do I relate with that so much. Freezing up and just wanting to step back into the shadow and get on with stuff instead of stepping up to take charge? Near identical to how I work in heated situations too, it's nice to see they didn't try to change that about her in the new content.

We all know my stance on Floofty. I was already over the moon that I was getting any new content for them to begin with, but listen. I need you to understand. I played the game in the mindset of Orlifa (my Journalist/Scientist student OC) and LET ME TELL YOU. THE AMOUNT OF SHIT. THAT FITS INTO HOW I HAVE THOSE TWO INTERACT. BLEW MY FUCKING MIND. I HAVE SO MUCH ART FUEL FROM THIS DLC BAYBEY.

As for the gameplay content, I did not expect the quests from the letter system to add such a substantial amount of work, some of those quests are fucking DIFFICULT! (FUCK THAT ONE THAT MAKES YOU LUNCHPAD YOUR WAY UP TO THE VERY TOP OF FROSTED PEAK. I SPENT. 2 HOURS. DOING THAT.)

But I am SO in love with the variety of stuff you get to decorate your hut, and I've been calling it since the first trailer came out. I cried the MOMENT Filbo was like "hey here's your new hut I hope it can be home for you soon" and BAM. WATERFALL. I KNEW IT WOULD GET ME I JUST REALLY LOVE THE IDEA OF GETTING SO COZY AND AT HOME IN SNAXBURG WITH EVERYONE IT MEANS A LOT TO ME OK.

I love the funny little puzzles you have to do on broken tooth, the first time I played it my brain was fried from like 10+hrs of streaming the original game to the point where I was forgetting how to catch bugsnax. I was a little dissapointed in how small the overall map is though (I played it a second time today and finished the whole DLC content within a few hours) but I still greatly enjoyed all of it regardless of that. I'm doomed to vocal stim the millimochi voice for the next month, sorry to all my friends who are gonna have to put up with that in discord vc's.

9.5/10 dlc -0.5 because I can't get the journalist to kiss Floofty (I'm joking, of course. I can just draw that. It really is a 10/10 <3)

There is. A lot more that I'm obviously not saying, because I'm still honestly absorbing a lot of it. I'm processing all the information from the dlc bit by bit, so it'll take some time. but I have seen everything there is to see (expect some funky art later tonight ;) )

[spade-snax]

Alright! Here goes my Bugsnax Grumpus last name headcanon!

(This ended up being way longer than I thought it would've been, oh god-)

I think we all can agree that the headcanon where a Grumpus child has their parent's combined last names as their own last name is a very common headcanon people share. It's a good one! Even I like it a lot. And when applied to OCs or fankids it makes for some hilarious names.

It'd make sense in-canon and I feel like it gives the Grumpus world more depth as their own little tradition. (Honestly give me ANY culture/tradition headcanon for Grumpuses PLEASE THOSE ARE MY FAVORITEEEE I even had one for teeth a while ago that I may share publicly one day!!)

But I've been thinking about this, especially because of Cromdo and my own OCs - Neddy and Rason Honeyfidget. With Rason being Neddy's dad, if we only used this headcanon then Neddy shouldn't have this last name... Well, there's a lore reason why he doesnt and that is that his mother has died while he was still an egg, a while before hatching. Rason made him take on "Honeyfidget" only.

But that's just the backstory that got me thinking at the name traditions as a whole, so I'll try to avoid OC talk any further to make this friendlier for others who do not know about my OCs and are just interested in reading this headcanon.

Another headcanon I want to mention as I apply it to my own is the headcanon that Triffany changed her last name to Bronica's last name as a way to honor her. You can definitely change your name to anything you want in the Grumpus world, but changing your last name to a relative's like your grandparent's last name is possibly quite common!

And now I want to bring up Cromdo and the fact he is divorced. It has been confirmed that Cromdo is divorced and that his name may reflect that. (Though originally it was answered in the AMA that "Cromdo Face" just sounded funny at first and that it is possible that he did loose a half of his last name this way!)

Also I want to say that he wasn't abusive to the child mentioned! I remember there was a small confusion and drama about that. And I believe one of the devs on the YH discord mentioned that the 1# tie was a reference to Octodad. I do not remember if that confirmed that he is a father or if this answer by Sage was possibly wrong. He cannot see the child because he lost custody of them and lost in court. I do not have screenshot evidence of this. On a side-note I believe this could be one of the reasons he grew to be so money hungry. He didn't have enough money back then to keep his child. Again I want to say it could be ONE of the reasons and not the exact reason why he is this way.

This is more so of an ramble about my headcanon and what I want to say rather than some comprehensive thing, I am so sorry dfwergeg it's just how I write and explain things and I gotta mention it ALL (Great addition to "Guzma, your ADHD is showing")

Anyways, back on track with my HC.

But in this/my headcanon - Cromdo is divorced, he has had a child, and lost a part of his last name because of the divorce. I do not know how human marriage last name and stuff works properly so uh, see this as just speculation about a fictional species' culture rather than a carbon copy of our own. Which it clearly isn't LOL

I personally think that you can do multiple things with your last name when you get married! (And how it can affect the child's last name!)

Let's use Chandlo and Snorpy as examples, because I think they make great last name combinations. (And Snorplo is HELLA !!/pos)

- You can change your last name to your partner's last name, like we do commonly. (At least, with all the cultures I'm aware of and how marriage works for us.) Examples: Snorpy Funkbun, Chandlo Fizzlebean

(This one isn't very common to do!)

- You can change one half of your last name to a half from your partner's last name. Examples: Snorpy/Chandlo Funkbun/Fizzlebun

(Not as common either, but it still happens. It is actually more common than the first example. This was the case for Cromdo. I'll get back to this later. Grumps usually reserve this for their childen, which is the most common way of naming your children!)

- You keep your last name after marriage! Example: Snorpy Fizzlebean. Chandlo Funkbun. Canon examples would be Wambus and Triffany as well!

(Most common one to do as many wear their last names with pride or for other reasons - such as Trifanny when she changed her last name to Bronica's last name in this headcanon.)

Before we get to the kids again, I'm gonna go back to Cromdo and what can happen during divorce.

During divorce you can simply change your name back if you changed it, or keep the last name you took from your partner. Many simply change their last names back to what they were originally. Some, if they went by the half/half method, take away the half from their ex-partner only. This leaves some Grumpuses with one worded last names, such as Cromdo.

I think he changed a half of his last name during marriage. After the divorce, he didn't want to "wear" his partner's name anymore and changed his name to Cromdo Face only as Face was a part of his last name he was given at birth. This is most often the default for Grumpuses who have been divorced and took only half of their partner's last name.

If Cromdo - (or any Grumpus with a one-word last name! There's certainly rare cases of Grumpuses who have one word that didn't go through divorce. Possibly Grumpuses with bad attachment to one of their parents - so they change or remove that half of the last name they got from said parent. If their last name was a combination.) - were to re-marry he could take one half of his new partner's last name, or not change his name at all.

I want to get onto how naming a child would work with this situation, so I will talk about ways of naming children before I get back to this! And by naming I of course mean the last names only, lol.

(One rule is that, unless you change your name later in real life for any reason, it's gonna have to be one of these otherwise! Your Grump parent cannot make you up a new last name. It is just a part of the tradition they have. Though re-naming isn't looked upon in any way by the majority of Grumpuses as there are many reasons to do so!! Unless you're a jerk or you value your last name TOO much.) (Also when I say "you" I don't mean YOU as the reader literally. I mean a hypothetical Grumpus child!! It's just how I like wording things.

(...I've been writing for almost an hour, brain scrampled eg)

- Your last name is the combined name of your parent's last names. Examples: Fizzlebun, Funkbean

(VERY COMMON! Most Grumpuses will do this when first naming their child!)

- Your keep one of your parent's last name! Fizzlebean or Funkbun.

(This all works if you have multiple parents btw! Can make for SUPER crazy long and funny last names. This *all* applies to marriage, too! I hope it is easily applicable. I do not want to go in depth on that. Feel free to hit me an ask about this if you want me to explain it more in depth!! I wouldn't want to exclude polyamorous relationships ^^ )

(Also yes, last names that are just the same word repeated twice/multiple times are possible too. Fizzlefizzle, Funkfunk... How fun are these to say? Gives me Grumpus OC name ideas already.)

But yes! Back to Cromdo! Or any Grumpus in the same situation, but as I've stater earlier, Cromdo is just an example here. If he were to re-marry and NOT change his name, there's two posibilities:

His new partner has a full last name.

In this situation, if they have a child they can keep the full last name from Cromdo's partner. Or they can have one word from his partner + Face. For reasons stated below the child cannot have "Face" as their only last name.

His new partner has a one-worded, short last name like he does.

In this situation, if they have a child they have to name it a combination of their last name's. No exception. Having a short last name is a sign of something happening in your life, and it is traditionally not put onto a child, unless they are adopted with no last name. That still counts as something that happened in their life, as their birth parents possibly just gave them away with no care in the world.

------------------------------------------

At this point I am almost completely off track, so please do ask me questions as I am not sure where I completely left off - Or rather if there is something I forgot that I wanted to mention.

By the way, for combining last names and such, you can also mis-match! Doesn't even have to be combinations. This applies to everything, even for (Full last name + one-word last names) where it makes sense the most. Examples: Beanfizzle, Bunfunk, Bunbean, Bunfizzle, Beanbun, Beanfunk. I'm personally a big fan of Bunfunk and Beanbun :P)

And this applies to siblings, too! It isn't uncommon for parents naming their children mis-matched last name combinations if they have multiple ones. (This ties into my headcanon for Filbo's many siblings and that he isn't a single child. He's in a big household and has at least 2 siblings. ONE OF WHICH I want to make into an OC! This requires me to make the parents, too, but I am not so bothered about that :P)

I'm out for now, all my brain power has left me a few paragraphs ago and I've got to go eat lunch

But again I encourage people to ask me questions (If anyone was brave enough to read through this!!)

And if I got anything wrong, do let me know! I am not all-knowing and I could've missed some VERY OBVIOUS mistakes.

And sorry if the writing is wonky at times! Sometimes it is done on purpose but sometimes the fact I only pretend I know how to write + the fact English is my second language IS SHOWING

(Also I sometimes just write how I think, without much thought put into the sentence if I don't proof read, so HSDFWERGRGT)

[creativeskullcreations]

Buddy’s Problem part 3

And here's the last chapter! And if it feels kinda incomplete, that's cause it kinda is. I wasn't able to fit everything I wanted to into this fic, so there will probably be another fic later, focusing on Buddy solving his problems with the help of the others.

But that will be in a while, cause I've got other stuff to do first, and other fics to write. Until then, enjoy this fic, maybe check out my other fics, and definitely check out Left Behind, written by my friend @colorfulcollectordragon-2f8ee55c.

Filbo was having fun. Everyone, was having fun as far as he could tell. While they had, originally, gone to Gramble's place for the party it ended up that Gramble practically lived out of an animal shelter. Fitting, for the short Grumpus, but not very good for a party. So they had ended up moving to Wambus and Triffany's house instead, which meant they could be as loud as they want.

Which Chandlo took as a challenge, of course, after he had had a few beers. As it turned out, the bodybuilder was a lightweight, and Snorpy was currently trying to make him be quiet.

Beyond that, everyone else seemed to be having a great time, chatting among themselves or dancing to the music. Though Cromdo and Wiggle had gotten into a bit of a singing competition, it seemed to be all in good fun.

"Man, this is a great party!" Filbo commented to himself as he sipped at his own beer. He didn't get drunk easily, but he still wanted to be able to drive home. He could easily stay the night, but he didn't want to intrude.

He looked out the window, which had a good view of the driveway. No little red car yet, but it was still early. They'd left a note on Gramble's door, so Buddy would know to come here instead.

Hopefully, he'd be able to make it.

But, as the night went on and the party ran down, Buddy never showed up. And Filbo couldn't stop the hard, cold ball of dread from forming in his stomach. Finally, he went to where Wambus was arguing with Snorpy on whether he should continue growing and selling sauce.

"Hey, uh, Wambus?" The farmer turned to face the new Mayor fully, ignoring Snorpy even as he kept talking. "Can I use your phone?"

"Why?" He asked, reaching out to shove Snorpy's hat over his eyes. The poor guy must have drunk more than Filbo'd thought, as he immediately tripped over his own feet and onto the couch.

"Uh, well, Buddy told me he'd come. But, y'know, he never showed up. So I wanted to give him a quick call, and make sure he was okay."

"Sure." He gestured for Filbo to follow, and led the smaller Grumpus to the phone on the wall. He then leaned against the other wall nearby to watch as Filbo dialed in the number he'd memorized, and held the receiver up to his ear.

Nothing, just a dial tone. He hung up, then tried again to be greeted with the same result. He was about to try a third time when Wambus snatched the phone and did it for him instead, frowning at he dial tone.

"Does he usually call people at this time of night?" He asked as he hung up, and Filbo shook his head.

"Not while I was there." He shrugged helplessly, and watched the farmer's frown deepen.

"I don't like this." He said. "We should go check on him."

"What, now?!" Filbo rushed after Wambus as he headed for the door. "But half of us are drunk!"

Wambus paused, then changed direction to where Triffany was talking with Floofty. "Triffy. I need ya to drive me to, ah, to Buddy's house. He's not answering his phone, and he was supposed to be here." He told her.

Oh dear." Triffany put down her glass of water, worry already creasing her features. "Of course I'll drive ya, Wamby. Gotta make sure he's okay, after all."

"I will accompany you." Floofty spoke up, setting their own glass of water down.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, Floofty." Filbo told them. "You can stay and enjoy the party."

"Nonsense. You have been drinking as much as anyone else. You need someone to drive you." They reached over and plucked Filbo's keys from his paw. "And besides, our friend may require medical assistance, and I am the most qualified to give it. It's the least I could do for all the help he's given me."

"Oh, uh, okay then." Filbo followed them out and to their car, watching as Wambus and Trffany got in Wambus' truck. He had to give them directions, as Floofty had never been to Buddy's apartment before. But, they did exactly as he told them, and Triffany followed close behind.

They made it there quickly, and parked in front of the old brick building. Filbo climbed out of Floofty's car as soon as they got it parked, and bypassed the intercom system to head straight for the stairs instead. A few seconds later, he heard the others following behind him.

He stopped at the door to Buddy's apartment, and knocked quickly. "Hey, Buddy? You in there?" No answer, and as Filbo went to knock again Wambus elbowed in front of him and banged on the door instead.

"Open up!" He growled out, and Triffany and Filbo rushed to make him stop.

"Wamby! We don't want to scare the poor dear." She scolded.

"O-or wake everyone else up." Filbo looked around, in case anyone tried to come out and yell at them. When he turned back, Floofty was crouched by the door, something in their hands. "Uh, Floofty? What are you doing?"

"Picking the lock, of course." Floofty suppressed a sigh of annoyance. "Whether he's actually in there or not, it's clear he has no intention of answering. Thus, the only way to gain entry is to do it ourselves."

"But isn't that illegal?" Filbo asked. Floofty paused for a second, then chuckled darkly and finished picking the lock. They stood up and to the side, letting Filbo be the one to actually open the door.

Filbo didn't hesitate to enter the apartment, calling quietly as the others followed. "Buddy? Are you in here?"

"Absolutely disgusting." Floofty nudged an empty bottle with their prosthetic. "Was it this bad the last time you were here?"

"Not really." He looked around the room. "I mean, it was kinda messy  a couple of weeks ago, but not this bad."

"Hmm." Floofty approached the Wall of Paper, reading through each article thoroughly.

"Filbo? Ya might wanna come look at this." Filbo went to where Triffany was standing by the door to Buddy's "spare room". The room itself was filled with file boxes, one of which the archeologist had opened. It was filled with more folders full of paper, each one with a large red REJECTED stamped on the front. Triffany was looking through one, and Filbo, against his better judgement, grabbed one up himself.

It was an article, one written by Buddy if the writing was any indication. He closed the folder and looked at the REJECTED stamp again, before turning back to the stacks and stacks of boxes in the room. Some of them were regular cardboard boxes labeled with things like KITCHEN or PHOTOS. But the vast majority, Filbo was sure, held more rejected articles.

"Looks like our journalist has been busy." Triffany observed quietly. "Maybe too busy. Has he ever mentioned any other friends?"

"I... no. Not to me, anyways." Filbo admitted. He stared at the folder in his hands as he  stood up. "We gotta find Buddy."

"Found him!" Wambus called from the bathroom. The two hurried that way, to find Buddy passed out in the bath tub, Wambus standing over him and reading a bottle. "Looks like he drunk himself into a stupor."

"My respect for him has lowered considerably." Floofty commented dryly as they approached to check his vitals. "At least he didn't try to drive anywhere, or I would have killed him myself."

"Floofty, please." Triffany scolded. "Now is not the time."

"Hmph." They stood up, drying their now damp hands on a nearby towel. "Well, he's still alive, at least. But it would be highly dangerous for him to remain here alone."

"I could stay here with him." Filbo volunteered, and Wambus snorted.

"Not gonna happen." He said, leaning down and grabbing Buddy, hefting him up over his shoulder in a firegrump carry. "We'll bring him back with us."

"Wamby, no. That's kidnapping." Triffany chased her husband down as he power-walked out of the apartment. Floofty and Filbo exchanged a look, then quickly followed them out, the scientist grabbing the keys from the small dish by the door as they passed.

The way back seemed to take less time, though that might've been the alcohol finally taking hold. Filbo tried to focus on what he could see of Triffany and Wambus in the truck in front of them, watching as they apparently argued.

As they pulled up, Filbo noticed that most of the cars were gone. 'Oh. I guess the others left when we did.' He felt a little guilty about that, but it had been quite late already. 'I hope they all got home okay.'

Him and Floofty watched as Wambus climbed out of the truck, the grabbed Buddy and carried him into the house. Triffany followed, wringing her paws together worriedly. Beside him, Floofty sighed.

"I'd better go collect my brother and his partner." They said and left the car. Filbo followed and they went inside, where Triffany was checking up on Chandlo and Snorpy, who were laying on the couch. They approached, but when they got close their face twisted into an expression of disgust.

"Really, Snorpington?" They muttered, but settled onto the floor near the couch anyways. Filbo took the chance to go to where he knew the guest room was, where Wambus had set Buddy onto the bed.

"... Do you think he'll be okay?" The smaller Grumpus asked, watching from the doorway. Wambus just shook his head, turning to leave the room.

"No clue, Filbo. But I think it's time for everybody to get some sleep." He said gruffly. "We've got another couch, if ya need it."

"Oh. Thanks Wambus." He was feeling pretty tired, as it had been a pretty eventful day. And, with what they'd found, he didn't really want to leave Buddy alone. He followed Wambus to the second couch, and settled in for the night.

--------------

"Ngh." Buddy threw an arm over his eyes as light streamed in through the window. 'Wait, the bathroom doesn't have any windows! Or a bed!' He sat up quickly, then fell back against the pillows as his head throbbed and his eyes burned. 'Mistake! That was a mistake! Ow!' Carefully, he rolled away from the light and slowly opened his eyes, looking around. 'Yeah, no. This isn't my bedroom. I don't know where this is.' He huffed a quiet laugh that made his face hurt. 'Snorpy was right, there is a Grumpinatti.'

As the ex journalist considered whether he was up to fight hordes of possible cultists, the door creaked open, then shut again as someone entered the room. They stopped by the bed, and Buddy managed to turn his head back enough to see Wambus standing there, a mug of something steaming in his paws.

"... How the grump did you get in my house?" Was all he said. Wambus gave a low chuckle, setting the mug down on the bedside table.

"Filbo showed me." The farmer told him. "Drink that when you can. It'll help with the hangover." There was thud from another room, followed by begging and then yelling, thought both were indistinct. "... I gotta go separate those two again. Triffy'll be by to check up on ya soon."

Time passed. Buddy wasn't sure how much, as there wasn't a clock and he didn't have his watch, but he did eventually manage to sit up and drink the... drink that Wambus had brought him. It was absolutely disgusting, so he didn't drink much of it, even if it did help his headache. But eventually, Triffany did come in with some food.

"Hey there." She said, quietly but cheerfully, holding up the plate. " I brought ya some breakfast. "

"Oh, uh. Thanks?" He accepted the plate, but she didn't leave. "Um, why am I... here?"

"Oh, Filbo got worried when you didn't show up at the party last night. And then him and Wamby got even more worried when you wouldn't answer your phone."

"Uh, yeah. I kinda... stopped paying the bill on that." He told her sheepishly. "I wasn't sure I'd be able to afford it without a job, y'know?"

That was a lie, of course. He'd actually taken the receiver off the hook so none of them could call him. But he wasn't going to tell her that, not when she looked so worried about him already.

"Oh honey. That's terrible." She told him, but he just shrugged in response, feeling guilty.

"I mean, it's not the first time. I get paid for the articles that go out, so if that doesn't happen..." He sighed. At least that part was true. "I just hope Beffica has an easier time of it than I've had."

"I'm sure she'll be just fine, dear." Triffany told him. "Say, if you're feeling up to it, why don't you come eat at the table? Filbo and Wambus should be back soon, and they'll be happy to see ya up and about."

"Sure. Why not." Buddy sighed, and followed her to the dining room. He looked out the windows as they passed, but couldn't see his car. 'I guess they went to go it. I hope they went to go get it.'

Buddy stayed mostly quiet while him and Triffany ate breakfast, though a look at the clock showed it was actually closer to lunchtime. Ah well, wasn't the first time he'd woken up late with a hangover. When he did talk, he kept it away from his personal issues, keeping it on more lighthearted topics instead.

Finally, though, Wambus and Filbo showed back up, with the smaller Grumpus driving Buddy's tiny red car. 'Finally!' He thought as he watched them climb out and head for the house. 'Now I can get out of their lives.'

The two at the table stood as the others came in, Buddy just barely restraining himself from snatching his keys out of Filbo's paw. "Did ya boy get everything done.?" Triffany asked.

"Yep." Wambus adjusted his hat. "Threw out all those bottles."

"What?" Buddy deadpanned, then took a deep breath. "You, uh, you only threw the empty ones out, right?"

"Nope." He answered bluntly, and Buddy felt a brief, burning rage before it dissolved into depressed acceptance.

"Fine. Okay." He sighed and turned to grab his keys from Filbo, who held them back. "... Give me my keys, Filbo."

"I think we need to talk, Buddy." He said instead, and Buddy gave an angry huff before just snatching them and stalking out of the house. Triffany and Wambus exchanged a look, while Filbo ran after him.

"Buddy, wait!" He grabbed his arm before the orange Grumpus could reach his car.

"What, Filbo?!" He snapped, turning and yanking his arm away. "What do you want now? Cause what I want is to go home, and try and find a paper that will take me! If Clumby hasn't blacklisted me, of course."

"I..." What to say in this situation? Buddy had never looked so angry before, and Filbo wasn't sure what to do. He swallowed thickly. "That doesn't sound like too big of a problem-"

"Oh no, that's not my problem." Buddy said with false cheer. "My problem is that no matter what I do, I get thrown out like a piece of trash!!" He had started shouting, and wasn't sure when. Filbo looked taken aback, having drawn away when the yelling started. "So now, I'm gonna leave before I get thrown out! Again!" He yanked his car door open and got inside, slamming it shut. Unfortunately, when he tried to start the engine, nothing happened.

"Piece. Of. Shit." He groaned before letting his head fall to the steering wheel. A second later there was a knock on the window, and he turned just enough to see Filbo staring worriedly at him through the glass. Buddy ignored him, so he walked around the front of the car and got in the passenger seat. Buddy cursed his broken door locks.

"Get out of my car, Filbo." He growled, not lifting his head up.

"No. Not until you tell me what you're talking about!" The strength in his tone surprise the orange Grumpus. "... What makes you so sure we're gonna "throw you out"?"

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then Buddy sighed and leaned back, pressing his paws into his eyes. "Why wouldn't you throw me out. Everyone else I've ever met has."

"That can't be true!" Filbo protested.

"Really? Then tell that to my parents. And childhood "friends". And every single job I've ever worked." He sighed and glared out the windshield. "I'm a terrible Grumpus, Filbo. Everything I try to do, I screw it up somehow. Even when I do something right, I end up doing it... wrong. And if it doesn't go wrong, then it ends not mattering either way."

"That's not true!" Filbo insisted. "You helped everyone in Snaxburg-"

"And fed them all parasites! I fed you all so many you started to turn into them!" He smacked the wheel, frustrated. "If we didn't find Liz when we did, none of us would be here right now!"

"Hey, hey, it's okay. We all- Most of us made it out okay. The Snax wore off, and we're all fine." He tried to give a reassuring smile, but Buddy just turned away. "Nobody blames you for that. Heck, I don't think they even blame Liz. So, it's fine. Right?"

"No Filbo, it's NOT fine." He tried one more time to start the car, and was rewarded by the engine finally sputtering to life. "Now, get out of my car. I have job applications to fill."

Instead, he heard the click of a seat-belt locking into place. He looked over to see Filbo had instead buckled himself up, and was staring at Buddy with his arms crossed.

"Oh. My. Grump." He deadpanned. "Just get out."

"Nope! If you leave, I'm leaving with you." He gave Buddy a hard look. "I am not letting you go and drink yourself back into a stupor."

He barked out a short, humorless laugh. "Beffica was right, you really are a squeeb."

"Hey, she said I was the good kind of squeeb!" The tone was light, and kept Buddy from feeling too bad about it. A not uncomfortable silence descended on the two, as Buddy messed with the switches on his dashboard. "... Did you ever think about coming out here?" Filbo finally asked.

"I mean, I could. I don't really know what I'd do, but I could."

"I'm sure we could find some sort of job for you. If nothing else, you could, uh, be Floofty's assistant?" Filbo scratched his head. "Or I could give you a job in office. At least until the next election."

"Sure, why not." He snorted. "What could go wrong with putting me in leadership position."

"... You could be a file clerk or something?" He suggested, and Buddy gave a real laugh this time.

"We'll see." He told him. "Now, get out of my car, for real. I gotta go home, take a shower." He sighed. "Buy groceries."

"Oh, uh. Yeah." Filbo let himself out of the car, but didn't close the door. "Just, uh, don't do the whole drinking thing again, okay? You made everyone really worried."

A pause, and then Buddy gave a reassuring smile. "Sure, I think I can manage that."

[sukipershipper]

I'm gonna track down the anon that said snorpy would be a bad dad. He would be a great dad, the one that teaches you how to do things that other kids dont know how to. The dad that actually helps you come up with an original science project idea, he's probably a good cook too.

He would make a great Dad honestly.

I do understand the concerns that come with having Snorpy as a parent, especially on his end. Will he become overwhelmed with the idea? Will he let his fears overtake him? What if the kid is too rambunctious?

And that’s why you have someone like Chandlo to help contrast against such a personality and bring him back into the light. Chandlo knows Snorpy better now, and he’s willing to help him when it comes to the kid. They don’t ever handle the problem by themselves, they tackle every issue together

[creativeskullcreations]

Here’s a one shot that’s crossing over @floofy-grumpuses human OC Nikki, with my own OC Kim from my not-yet-written fic Secret of the Snax.

INFO ABOUT KIM:

Spent the last two years in a hospital after a very traumatic incident.

Was found by the side of the road by Floofty.

Does not have amnesia like Nikki.

Is ten years old.

Is an orphan(parents died in previously mentioned incident).

In the original concept Kim couldn’t understand the Grumpus language, but that’s been changed here for obvious reasons.

Any other info is technically spoilers, but I am willing to share if asked. I also have a few other one-shots/scene snippets/concepts I can post if there’s any interest.

Kim was excited, as Floofty never really took her anywhere. She loved the little lab area in Floofty's basement, but it was hard when you weren't allowed out of the house very often. Luckily, she was used to being confined, and it made going out that much more exciting.

"Where are we going? Are we gonna go see Snorpy and Chandlo? Chandlo said he'd show me how to make a basket from anywhere on the court next time I was over there!" She rambled, bouncing in her seat as Floofty got into the driver's side of their little car. They checked that she had actually buckled up before starting the car.

"Not this time, no. Instead we're going to visit a friend of mine, Professor Triffany Lottablog, and her husband. They adopted a child a while ago, and I feel like you two would be... companions."

"Oh. Like friends?" The ten year old asked excitedly, and Floofty cleared their throat.

"It's a possibility." In truth, Floofty just wanted to know how the two aliens would react to each other. They seemed close in age, at least, and that usually meant a good chance at children becoming friends, at least for Grumpuses. Neither they nor Triffany knew enough about humans to know if it would work the same for them, however. There was always the possibility there would be an immediate fight.

But, the scientist felt guilty that they couldn't let Kim roam like she obviously wanted to. Their home was just too close to civilization for that. But the Troubleham farm was far outside of town, yet closer than their brother's home. It was the perfect place for Kim to run around at.

Luckily, the drive didn't take too long, and they soon spotted the fields Wambus had been planting his pilfered sauce in. Another couple of minutes of driving and the small little farmhouse came into view, with it's faded green paint and flowers under the windows. It was quaint, and Floofty hated the sight of it.

Floofty parked next to Wambus' truck, and the two got out as Triffany came out to greet them. To Floofty's relief, Kim seemed to be in a more outgoing mood today and didn't hide behind them at the approaching Grumpus.

"Well hey there you two. I was wondering when ya would show up." The green Grumpus, Triffany Kim deduced, greeted them.

"We are exactly when I told you we'd be here, Professor Lottablog." Floofty coolly informed her, but was waved off as she turned to lead them to the house.

"So ya are." Was all she said as they walked up the gravel path. Kim followed close, but kept her eyes on the ground in case she spotted a cool rock. She had grabbed a fanny pack before they'd left the house, and needed stuff to put in it, like rocks. Floofty didn't have a lot of pretty things in their house, and Kim intended to fix that.

"Oh, Nikki's been so excited for this visit since we told her." Triffany was telling them. "It even got her to clean her room."

"Fascinating." Floofty sounded anything but fascinated. "Where is she, by the way? I expected her to be here greet us as well."

"Oh well, she may have gotten a little too excited, ya know? So Wambus took her out back to help in the garden and work some energy off."

"Ah. Understandable. Though Kim doesn't have that problem." Floofty told her, a smug tinge to their voice. Triffany frowned, but didn't answer.

'Ya just keep on believing that, Dr. Fizzlebean.' She kept her opinions to herself though as she took them around the house, however. Floofty would find out soon enough that every child had that problem.

They got to the back of the house, where they spotted the large, blue Grumpus leaning against the fence, looking up into a tree. The sight of Wambus turning to greet them cause did Kim to duck behind Floofty, peering out around them suspiciously.

Wambus fixed Floofty with an equally suspicious glare, barely giving the human girl a glance. "You'd better not be plannin' somethin'." He growled out.

"Oh please, I wouldn't do anything I thought would endanger them." Floofty replied, voice carefully even. "But if you're that against this, I can take Kim, and we can leave right now."

A brief staring match ensued before Wambus turned back to the tree. "Nikki! Come on down here!" He called loudly, startling Kim back behind Floofty. The scientist reached back and gave her head a quick pat as Nikki dropped out of the tree.

"You let her climb that?!" Triffany exclaimed quietly as the girl made her way over.

"What? She likes climbing." Wambus whispered back. "She didn't want to do anything else."

The human ran over, slowing when she spotted Floofty, and stopping so she was slightly behind Wambus and Triffany. Kim peeked out just enough that Nikki caught sight of her. But, it wasn't enough for Floofty, who picked the girl up by the back of her oversized shirt and dropped her down in full view of everyone. When Kim made to try and hide again, they put their paws on her shoulders, keeping her in place.

"Nikki," They started. "this is Kim. My... ward." There, that was a safe enough word for it. "We believe that she is the same species you are."

"Hmmm." Nikki walked closer, now assured that Floofty wasn't here for her. "She does look like it, I guess."

"Excellent." Floofty shoved Kim at Nikki. "Go have fun. I have to talk with your parents."

"Uh, okay then." Nikki grabbed the smaller girl's hand and tugged her towards the house. "Come on, I'll show you my room."

Kim followed, but not without several glances back at the Grumpuses, who were slowly making their way after the children as they talked. She lost sight of them when they entered the house

Nikki led her through the house and to a bedroom. It was definitely smaller than Kim's old room in Floofty's lab, but a fairly good sized one besides that. It had a very comfortable looking bed, and several bookshelves, along with a chest. A few toys, and books were scattered around the floor, like Nikki had been called away from playing.

While Nikki gathered a few  of the toys up, Kim stood by the door and looked around the room. "So," she started, quietly, "what do you usually do around here?"

"Oh, just... stuff. I like to help Dad out in the garden, and climb trees, and Dad promised he'd show me how the tractor works when I'm old enough." She explained, using some of the books to set up a house-like shape.

"Dad...?" The big blue one, maybe? Kim couldn't imagine him being anything but scary. "That's... neat."

"What do you do? You came here with Floofty, right? I bet they do all sorts of weird things."

"I mean... Not really? They gave me food, and a place to sleep. Sometimes I take notes for them, but mostly they give me puzzles and books to read."

Nikki stared at her. "That's weird." She said bluntly. "Dad never makes me do puzzles, but Mom is making me go through school, but it's home-school and I get to go outside when all my work's done, so that's okay." She made another "building" out of some nearby blocks

"Oh..." Kim kneeled next to the older girl as she laid out a scene with the dolls. Most of them were Grumpus shaped, but one was a fairly accurate replica of what Nikki looked like. She chose a deep purple Grumpus doll, while Nikki grabbed one of the blue ones, in order to start the story.

The played that scene for long enough that it turned from a simple trip to the mall, to an epic fight with a dragon(represented by a model Nikki cobbled together from a book and tinfoil). They played together until Triffany came to get them for dinner. The girls followed her to the dining room, where Wambus and Floofty were already seated. Kim climbed into the chair next to Floofty, staring suspiciously at the dishes already full of food.

"Is that cooked all the way?" She asked as Floofty served her some of the casserole. She hadn't seen it get made, which meant anything could be in there. She did not trust that casserole.

"Oh of course! Wouldn't be a casserole without spending a long time in the oven." Triffany told her, but Kim kept her suspicious glower. Wambus meanwhile looked almost pained at his wife's words, and was quick to correct her on casserole making.

While the others got caught up in conversation about cooking, they missed Kim standing in her chair and lifting her fork over her head. Without a sound, she stabbed the casserole, hard enough that it splattered against the table cloth. Nikki watched, shocked, as she did it a second and a third time, but the adults were all unsurprised.

Floofty just sighed and finally took the fork away, leaving Kim to eat the now mutilated casserole with a spoon. When she tried to stab it again anyways, the scientist caught her wrist and forced her to sit down. "Stop trying to murder your meal. Just eat it, it's fine." And Kim finally settled down, digging into the "casserole" with her spoon.

Not that she ate a lot, however. Everyone else finished their food, but she left a lot on her plate. Nikki felt jealous, as her parents always made her to clear her plate before dessert, but Floofty just asked if they could borrow a Tupperware to take it home with them. Clearly, they were used to this sort of thing, and so was Kim as she didn't seem upset at not having dessert. She seemed completely uninterested in it, in fact, which Nikki found really weird.

She didn't say anything about it, though, and dinner finished without anymore incidents. While Nikki got up to help her mom gather up the dishes, Kim stayed seated beside Floofty, writing something down on a notepad the scientist had produced.

"Mom, can we go play outside?" Nikki asked when all the plates had been deposited in the sink. Triffany didn't even hesitate before patting the girl on the head with a smile.

"Oh, of course, dear. Just don't leave the yard, okay?" She instructed. "And come right back inside when it starts gettin' dark."

"Okay Mom. Kim, come on! We're gonna go play outside!" She led Kim out the backdoor to the yard where they were before. The sun was getting low, but it wasn't quite sunset yet, giving them plenty of time to play.

Nikki took her to where there was a ball and makeshift basket to throw it in, and they took turns throwing it in. This was followed by seeing how high each of them could throw the ball, and then how far from the basket they could still get it in.

The adults watched them through the window as they cleaned the dishes, Floofty packing Kim's food into a container for later. She may be good at faking it, but Floofty could tell she was hungry. She just... didn't like eating unless she'd heated the food up herself, first.

Or watched it be made from start to finish. Every meal Floofty made for them involved trying to work around the tiny human. Even when it was just a microwave meal or leftovers, Kim could be found with her face almost pressed against tiny window, watching the food cook poorly.

"Oh, well, the girls seem to be getting along real nice." Triffany observed. "I knew this would be a good idea, ey Wamby?" She elbowed her husband, who just gave a grunt in response.

"Indeed, this outing proved fruitful." Floofty agreed. "Perhaps we should schedule another such day, so they can play together again."

"Well, I don't see why not." Triffany shot her friend a smile. "Maybe some time next week?"

"Perhaps. I shouldn't have any particularly time sensitive experiments going then." They paused to think, running through a mental list to make sure. "I'll probably be leaving her with you a lot more often, either way. Summer break is almost over, and I'll be starting my new position at the local school."

"Oh, Floofty, congratulations. Isn't that nice, Wamby?" Another uninterested grunt, but mostly cause he was watching the girls rather than paying attention to the conversation. Triffany just sighed. "Don't mind him. He's been worried about Nikki since she started climbing the trees again. Not like we can stop her once she gets up far enough, of course."

"Indeed." Floofty watched out the window for a moment, as the girls took turns throwing the ball upwards. "Hopefully Kim won't learn such things from your daughter."

"Oh honey, don't count on it." Triffany warned them half with sympathy. Such dangerous acts spread like a disease through children, and she had no doubt that Floofty would be finding Kim climbing things soon enough.

The conversation turned to more adult topics as they finished cleaning up and the sun set outside. Wambus turned on the porch light as the shadows started to grow, so Nikki would know it was almost time to come inside.

They did after a few minutes, Nikki chattering excitedly while Kim went over to Floofty, dragging their old fanny pack behind her. When the scientist lifted it, they found it surprisingly heavy.

"What did you put in here?" They asked bluntly, though honestly curious. Perhaps it was a dead animal the girls had found? They did need a few more subjects for their experiments...

"Rocks." Kim answered just as bluntly. Triffany hid an amused snort as Floofty unzipped the bag and, yep, rocks. Gravel from the driveway, to be precise. Nikki popped over and dumped a few more in to Floofty's shock.

"I see." Was their only answer. Kim just took the bag back and slung it over a shoulder, then climbed up on the couch and leaned tiredly against the purple Grumpus. Triffany saw them pat her head, smoothing out the short, dark hair. They noticed her watching and snatched their paw back like they'd been burned.

She thought about saying something, but instead politely ignored the action. She turned back to Nikki, who was telling them about the rock castle they'd built in the driveway.

"We'll have to get a picture in the morning." Wambus told her, ruffling her hair.

"More than one! Kim wants a picture of it too." She told him seriously, and he glanced at Floofty, who stared back stoically.

"Eh, sure. We can do that." He ignored the scientist's eyes boring into him and turned to his wife. "Any idea where the camera is?"

"I'll dig it out tomorrow." Triffany told him. Nikki bounced in place excitedly.

"I can help with that!" She said, and Wambus chuckled at her enthusiasm.

Floofty cleared their throat suddenly, standing up from their spot on the couch. "It is high time that Kim and I left for home." They announced, picking up the smaller girl. She jolted sleepily, briefly waking from where she'd been dozing, but otherwise didn't protest the sudden movement.

"Bye Kim!" Nikki waved from where she stood next to Wambus. Kim had, sadly, already dozed back off by then but Nikki didn't really mind. She turned to her Dad. "She's gonna come back, right?"

"Of course we'll return." Floofty almost scoffed at the childish question. "It won't be tomorrow, but you will eventually see Kim again."

"Okay." Nikki waved again, and Floofty sighed, but didn't wave back. Instead they followed Triffany as she walked them to the door, chatting as the two of them tried to figure out another play-date.

Nikki turned to her Dad. "Why didn't Kim eat? She just told me that she "couldn't trust the food"."

Wambus hesitated. They all knew why Kim had... issues with food, but it didn't feel like his place to explain why. Especially with Floofty's growing theories on just where, or maybe when, Kim and Nikki had come from. So he just ruffled the girl's hair. "She'll explain it when she's ready to. Now, it's almost time for bed, so why don't you go get ready?"

"Aaaww, can't I stay up tonight? I feel too excited to sleep!" She was bouncing in place, and though she looked wide awake he could tell she was holding back a yawn.

"Yeah. I wasn't born yesterday kid. Go brush yer teeth." With a heavy sigh the human bounced off towards the bathroom, and Wambus stood as Triffany came back in.

"Well, I think that went well. Don't you?" She asked, hands on her hips. She looked rather pleased at how things turned out, though Wambus didn't share the sentiment.

"I still don't trust them." He admitted, watching out the window as the small car made it's way down the drive. "It feels like they're planning something."

Triffany sighed. "Just give them a chance, Wamby. Kim's a sweet kid, and Floofty's really tryin'. Besides, Nikki seemed to like her."

Wambus didn't answer, just stoically stared out the window. Just because Nikki liked someone, didn't mean he had to trust them. She liked Gramble, after all, though he ended up not being so bad. Triffany just sighed after a minute of this.

"Well, either way, she's coming back next week. So I suggest gettin' used to it." He grunted, and she just patted his arm sympathetically. "Now, let's go make sure Nikki actually brushed her teeth just time."