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THIS. A THOUSAND TIMES THIS.

I'm pretty certain, the only fanfic that was about Pumbaa as a main character was in a fanfic that clearly "borrowed" a lot from When Did I Become A Parent. Other than fanfics that try to replicate the TV show, he's a side character in a Timon story, or a minor character in a Lion's story.

I'm pretty sure that once it's done, my story will be the very first Pumbaa-centric story this fandom has ever seen. If I'm wrong, point me in the right direction lol.

It's still weird to think that Timon and Pumbaa are slept on (in the fandom) because I can remember the days before Stitch and Olaf when they were everywhere. Same goes for The Lion King in general. It was MASSIVE like The Beatles or Titanic.

Slappy voice: What do ya want, a modern reference? I'm old.

I know a lot of folks got tired of them and Hakuna Matata but man, I adored those guys and still do. I saw a Pumbaa plushy at Five Below not too long ago and debated on getting him, but it felt weird without Timon. 😭 Don't split them up, society.

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Fanfic Update #2:

5.3k words and STILL counting! This story is well on the way to being the LONGEST fanfic I've ever written. JESUS CHRISTMAS WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME 🤣🤣🤣

Pumbaa's Dad is the most punchable son of a bitch I have ever written. And yet, there is a layer of truth to everything he says. If you want a sense of vibes, think Napoleon from Animal Farm.

I just couldn't wait to give you guys a sneak peek of what I'm working on, so here's a scene I believe isn't too spoilery...

All this time later, you still remember where you left her.

A Desert Rose tree grew in its place over the years. They were your favorite flowers; beautiful, but made of tough stuff.

Just like her.

“Hi, Mama,” You whisper, “Sorry I haven’t stopped by in a while. Life just kinda… got in the way.”

You haven’t been here since before you met Timon.

Ever since your life has been a whirlwind of new friends, new experiences… coming by to visit just… slipped your mind.

You think she’d be proud of you for that.

“I’m finally changin’ my name, but…” You confess, “...when push comes to shove, I’m havin’ a real tough time picking a new one. I went and made a really big mess for myself, didn't I?”

You rest against the trunk of what now resembles a stumpy tree; the last time you were here it was nothing more than an odd looking bush. You were lucky to come here while the flowers were still in bloom.

“I bet you could come up with a good name, if you were here,” You mutter, tearing up a little, “you always knew what to say...”

Breathe in. Breathe out. Keep it together.

You were only stopping by to say hello.

You get up and shake the pins and needles out of your legs as you walk away.

Time to focus on the real reason you snuck out this early.

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well look who it is. my old friend. the conses of my quences.

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Fanfic Updates:

3.5k words and counting! I don't think I've ever written anything this long this fast outside of college work.

I've done a surprising amount of research on both migratory birds and psychedelic plants found in Africa. Why have I done this? You'll have to find out...

Writing for Pumbaa's Mom is so much fun. In my head I kinda picture her as this large, intense, and stoic figure, but also incredibly warm and inviting to the ones she lets get close enough. (Mind you, that was a very small list Pumbaa was at the top of.) Basically a cool as fuck Butch you'd want share a beer with (if she lets you.) I want to make it clear that most of what makes Pumbaa great, he got from her.

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Not my Bitch Ass™ being so obsessed with my "Pumbaa isn't his real name" headcanon that I'm writing a Lion King fanfic in Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty Five

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DID YOU JUST READ MY MIND?!

Because these were my exact thoughts the other day!!!!

Pumbaa is an ABSOLUTE DREAMBOAT according to Warthog Beauty Standards. Large and powerful, impeccable tusks. If it weren't for the smell he'd be BEATING GIRLS OFFA HIM WITH A STICK lol

Yesterday morning, I woke up super groggy and my very first thought was “Timon has pretty privilege.”

Idk what the fuck my brain is up to LMAOOO

Then I was thinking about it some more, and I’m like. Yeaaaah.

That guy is probably like a solid 7.5/10 to the other meerkats. They tolerated his bullshit for so long and let him destroy tunnels four times a week because he’s cute.

(ASDJSKDLLS this is a shit post in case it’s not clear…)

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A sketch of Madame X I drew at the museum today.

I got a lot of compliments on it, I was quite surprised!

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I'm just glad somebody even LIKES my headcanons!!

You folks have all these beautiful and heartwrenching headcanons for Timon and Pumbaa and I'm over here like: ONE TIME TIMON CALLED BRAIN A BITCH...

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YOU HAVE UNLEASHED THE BEAST BABYYYYYY--

AHEM. Off to more headcanoning~

His original name? Kinda doesn't matter. In fact, it wasn't even his mother's first choice for a name. (Another small headcanon that Pumbaa's father was the sort that insisted on things, and could be kind of...intense about it.)

She barely called him by that name as a result...

...But she did call him her beloved.

As for choosing a new name, he puts it off for ages. What if nobody likes it? What if it's too much of a change? (And "Timon and Pumbaa" rolls off the tongue in such a nice way he's mostly afraid of ruining that too.)

All of his friends help, obviously. They help him test out an assortment of names that they genuinely believe would be a good fit for him. They all sound nice, but none of them feel right.

There comes a point that he believes that maybe this whole "new name" business was a stupid idea...

But then Timon just comes out and says it-

"Mpendwa."

And all of a sudden the pieces fit and his body fills up with an overwhelming warmth he hadn't felt since he was very small. There's so much of it his body can't even contain it anymore and soon tears are streaming down his face.

He loves it.

Of course he does. He's filled with so much love he's essentially the embodiment of Love itself.

Love to make up for the love he lost and the love that was never given. The Love he gives to the lost ones that need it and the ones that probably don't deserve it but he gives anyway because he too knows the pain of the alternative.

Except now, that Love has been returned tenfold.

And he's Beloved too.

Long story short, Pumbaa eventually takes on the name Mpendwa (Pendwa for short most days.)

And it's a perfect fit.

@lyraspace I couldn´t answer you reblog and use some videos at the same time, and that´s I´m answering on this way.

Okay, to be honest, I never think that Pumbaa´s name wasn't "Pumbaa", but I guess that Timon, Simba and the others ever think that neither. In fact, your theory is very interesting. It makes me sense for me too, overall after years of wondering why Timon makes that face in this scene

He seems think "Wait, this guy is literally named FOOL?!"

So yes, I can easyly see other cruel baby warthogs using "Pumbaa" to insult our beloved. At the beginnig, he didn´t care this so much, but, little by little, he started to belive some of that words in a inconcious way.

And then his mother was murdered. And all those bad words to him over the years started to seem true.

Than he was a foolish for stay paralysed of fear instead of try to help his mother to fight that cheetah.

That he was a stupid for let his scent endanger his family.

That he was... a Pumbaa.

His early childhood was full of love (mostly), with a name that meant all that, but now, he was a outcast, a lonley soul, someone who doesn´t deserve any love or kind.

Until the day that he decided to follow the baboon´s indications.

And then, his life started again.

So yes, I think that Pumbaa could want another name after meeting Timon. A name that fits with who he IS NOW- a loving father, a kind/awesome partner (yes, I´m introducing my personal headcanons here)- and no who he used to be.

And, just an idea; what if is Timon´s wedding gift to Pumbaa were a new name to him??

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EVEN BETTER:

Timon tries to deny it at first. Laugh it off, even.

No offense, but clearly this lady must have hit her head something fierce on the trip to Pride Rock. A case of mistaken identity, perhaps?

"C'mon, buddy, tell her. This is all just one big misunderstanding, right?"

"...."

"Pumbaa...c'mon...!"

And it's the way Pumbaa can't even look him in the eyes, when the quiet whispers and hushed gasps of individual realization fill the room, that it fully hits him. And then--

"I...I didn't want anyone to find out like this."

The world tilts a little off center.

Here's some food for thought: do you think that "Pumbaa" is our lovable warthog's real name?

I read a pretty decent fanfic once that revealed that he went by another name as a child and only adopted the one we know after losing his family to predators and repressing his memory of the event due to the trauma.

But within the context of your story, I like to think that "Pumbaa" started out as a cruel nickname the other warthogs gave him that he could never really shake off. The sole exceptions, of course, being Kanisha and his mother. (I doubt she'd ever name him something as callous as a word that means "stupid" or "foolish", anyway...)

But after his mom got killed and he got kicked out of his sounder, he took on the name because he felt like he deserved it...

On that note, do you think that one day, eventually, he might consider going by his old name again? Or maybe starting fresh and picking a new one?

(A fun idea you can play with if you want: Kanisha remembers him by his old name and that's what she calls him.)

(…I freaking love your Asks btw because they are always so insightful and delightfully angsty HAHAHAHA.)

That’s a fascinating idea, and I’ve often wondered about the nature and origin of Pumbaa’s name, as well. Because you’re right, what loving parents would name their child something that means such a cruel thing.

But I also struggle with the fact that I am JUST SO DAMN ATTACHED TO THE NAME “PUMBAA.” Like… it’s so freaking cute sounding and I can’t imagine ever parting with it. 😭😭😭

So maybe, if this is true, over time Pumbaa RECLAIMS the name?? And wears it proudly, since it’s something that the people he loves the most know him by?

But yeah, it would be FASCINATING to have Kanisha refer to him by a his old name and just… stun Timon and Simba and everyone into silence. Timon would be sitting there like… “whoa, you really had an entire life before me, didn’t ya?”

And Pumbaa would be just flooded with memories that he had long buried.

Ahhh yes. Juicy, succulent angst. 😮‍💨

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I see SOOOO much potential for angst, and I raise you this proposition:

Is Pumbaa even his real name?

Over the years I've seen translations of his name come out as stupid, foolish, lazy, and even careless. I doubt his mother would have been that callous as to name her child something that has that many negative connotations attached to it. Or she might have, if you're the type of fan that loves giving more pain to your faves.

I like to think that "Pumbaa" started out as a cruel nickname the other little warthogs gave him. And no matter how hard he tried, he could never shake it off.

And after he loses his family/gets kicked out, he decided to abandon his old name and take on the name Pumbaa as a badge of shame, because by that point he feels like he deserves it.

Does he hate lying to his friends? Of course he does. But the pain of being called by that name hurts so little it's practically numb to him these days.

It's the tantalizing, terrifying hope that buzzes in the back of his mind more often than he'd like to admit; maybe, one day, he'd like another name. Not a painful reminder of the past, not a hurtful badge of shame, but something that truly encompasses who he is.

But will his friends like it? That's what I think might hold him back.

TIMON AND PUMBAA HEADCANON :p

Pumbaa has only told Timon one single lie in his whole, and it was when Timon ask him about his birthday. Pumbaa doesn´t know when his birthday is. How he spent the most of his life alone, he didn´t have anybody to celebrate, and he ended up forgoting his date of birth. So, when Timon ask him when was his birthday, he answer with the day that he met Timon.

(Timon dosen´t realize until some time before and he was like ooh…oh *clumsy hug*)

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I am a huge fan of retiring to my quarters

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One of my more memorable stuffed animals growing up was...

This guy!!

Even if he was a bit too stiff to cuddle, and took up too much footspace on my bed for my liking, I still have a soft spot for it even after getting rid of him ages ago. (Boooo!)

Another fun fact: we also had the 30 inch Adult Simba plush you could use as a puppet! That one was my brother's, though.

CHRIST ON A FUCKING CRACKER. I feel like I’m so angry and stressed out all the time. Like a crotchety old lady.

I need some more vintage Timon & Pumbaa content. I’M DESPERATE FOR A HIT OF THAT UHHHHHHHHHH DOPAMINE PLEASE 😮‍💨

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23 Layer Chocolate Cake (via Instagram)

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> read library book

> it's good

Thank you library

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When Everyone brings Beef to the Family Reunion

Family Ties

Or, there's more than one reason Barlteby ran away from it all...

Within their wider culture, Rat Creatures usually forgo names unless they are royalty or do something worthwhile to earn one. But within smaller family groups, parents will often give unofficial titles to their young based upon birth order. And most of the time, these titles also determine hierarchies within litters.

Firstborns also tend to have a lot of expectations placed upon them to live up to and continue family lines. So if you're not up to snuff...

...or, perhaps, you're the runt of your litter...

...that weight can be crushing.