#i should start drawing other grumps other than filbo

[filbosstalker]

3 am doodle dump idk I kinda blacked out tbh

Ok goodnight chat 🫡🫡

[thegalleonsnest]

DUNGEONS & GRUMPUSES

You bet I just drew the Bugsnax crew playing D&D! This was something I sketched out a few weeks ago but finally got around to it! Haven’t done a large piece like this in awhile, especially with so many characters! I tried drawing each Grumpus with different pieces of cosplay that tell you how committed they are to the game. These are just random little headcanons for how I think about them playing D&D.

I’ve got a whole list written out for each Grump’s class they picked and why, so keep reading if you wanna know who’s who!

Starting from the front left to the back, you got:

Filbo; Sorcerer: He’s trying his best while working with a slightly below averaged charisma modifier. He doesn’t play often, so he’s gets confused about what he can do and how to properly build characters, but he’s learning.

Wambus; Paladin: He pretty new to it, so decided to go with the simplest one that was all about being good. Mainly followed Floofty & Snorpy’s instructions on how to make a good starting character. Triffany; Wizard: She’s just as new to playing as Wambus, but hopped on board super hard after learning that you could be a necromancer. Loves getting into character. Gramble; Druid: After raising his barn full of Snax, felt natural to play as a class close to nature itself. He had friends who were into playing D&D, but rarely participated and just watched. Mainly acting as support rather than being front and center. Wiggle; Bard: It’s pretty self explanatory lol. She spends more time playing music & setting the tone during sessions, but surprisingly, she’s super into role playing. Cromdo; Warlock: When something stinks of opportunity, why not take advantage of it? Even if it means making deals with various demons/gods/whatever is willing to make a blood pact with him for some easy riches? Used to play back when he was way younger, but life became a bigger factor.

Beffica; Rogue: Gotta get that perf dirt without getting caught, you know? Might take advantage of the party, who knows? Barely had any interest in playing, but why not use this opportunity to learn some things about your local residence?

Shelda; Monk: She’s more of a pacifist, spreading the word of Mother Naturae, and still spouting metaphors and riddles. She has no idea how to play, but she’s surprisingly effective at confusing any NPC for whatever reason. Eggabell; Cleric: Resident doctor is your resident healer of the party. And managing a party of 12 in a campaign is stressful as heck. Might crack under pressure deciding who to heal. She’s always liked fantasy stuff, so of course she still had some props for cosplay should could use. Elizabert; Barbarian: Adventurous and reckless by nature, so it was an obvious choice for her. Usually the one to start attacking without asking too many questions. Used to play a lot of D&D back in high school, so she can get pretty into it. Barrowed some of Eggabell’s old cosplay material for a sweet ’tume (If you get that reference, you’re a legend) Snorpy; Artificer: Veteran D&D player; grew up playing with Floofty. You gotta have your engineer on the team to think outside the box (and correct you on the rules constantly and make sure your dice rolls are correct). He likes dressing up for the part to really get into it. It’s the few times he is actually calm and having fun. Chandlo; Fighter: Plays with Snorpy from time to time. As long as you have the highest constitution & strength modifier, you can take the hits and throw them back at them pretty hard. His Wisdom is pretty high for a Fighter as well. Teams up hard with Liz & Wambus to protect the group

Floofty; The DM: Veteran as well, and yes, they would totally be the one to run a D&D campaign as way to run “hypothetical” experiments/test that would otherwise be rejected if performed in real life. I would also think just because of their personality, they would rarely ever be a player because of the number of disagreements that would come up during normal play with other people, unless it’s with a good group that knows each other.

[creativeskullcreations]

Buddy’s Problem part 2

Okay! Part two is done! Part three probably isn't gonna be until after the New Year, though, but it should be the final part.

Enjoy the story, and have a Merry Christmas! :D

As it turned out, being a campaign manager was pretty difficult, especially when Buddy had to travel to a whole different town for it. Filbo lived in a small farming town called Kinsing. Several other members of the expedition lived there too, though Wiggle, Gramble, and Cromdo lived in Gippsenburg. Either way, apparently Filbo wasn't very well known, having moved to Kinsing recently.

That was useful, and Buddy could totally work with that.

First was getting him nominated, which was easy as anyone could throw their name in. Filbo actually did that himself, though he needed some coaxing from Buddy to actually put it into the box. They then went out for burgers(not Bungers, thankfully) afterwards. They were joined by Beffica, who was shocked that Filbo was running for a real political position.

"Like, seriously? That's awesome you squeeb!" She gave him a soft punch to the arm, which he winced at. She didn't notice, or maybe just ignored it. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"Well, I mean, I ended up doing pretty good back at Snax- on Snaktooth, so I figured I might as well try for the real thing." He told her, rubbing the soon-to-be-bruise. "Worst thing that could happen is I'll lose to Robbzoni."

"Ugh, Robbzoni. He's the worst." She helped herself to Buddy's fries, even as he tried to yank the plate away from her. "He's the real reason we don't have anymore flowers by the roads. He kept stealing them, so eventually the town stopped replacing them."

"How the grump did you find that out, Beff?" Buddy asked before shoving the whole handful of remaining fries into his mouth. She just shrugged and went for Filbo's plate instead.

"I snooped, Bestie. Just like I always do. Did." She corrected herself quickly, looking away. "I, uh, used to do that."

"So..." Buddy searched for a new topic. "What do you do now, anyways?"

"Oh, I got hired as a reporter at CGN. It's a bit of a commute, but not so bad." She shrugged. "And my coworkers aren't so bad, either."

Ah, the rival for GNN. Buddy remembered all the fights that had broken out between reporters at events. He also remembered the time he raided their office with some of his coworkers and stole all of their paperclips. It was in retaliation for them stealing all the rubber-bands at GNN. Which was to get back at them for stealing all of CGN's staples.

Good times.

"Here." He dug out a bottle of pepper-spray and handed it to the shorter Grumpus. "You'll need this."

"Uh." She looked between him and the large canister. "... Thanks. I think."

"No problem." He took a long drag on his soda as the conversation drifted away from him. Which was just fine, as he was busy brainstorming anyways, writing down plans and ideas into his journal. So far he didn't have a lot, but he'd talk to Filbo about it later and see what they could do.

Maybe a party? Filbo always seemed to like them, back on Snaktooth, so maybe that would be a good way to win him some votes.

The rest of the time passed by in a blur. Events were held, debates, parties, even a couple of bake sales that reminded Buddy of his school days. Speeches were made, each carefully crafted to have the best effect on the small populace of the town.

Wambus was actually a big help with that. As a farmer himself, he knew what to say to get and keep the farmers on Filbo's side. So they ended up conferring with him a lot, which meant going to his and Triffany's house a lot.

He was a surprisingly good cook, honestly. The meals they shared there were some of the best Buddy ever ate. He really would miss those nights when everything was done here, but that was no reason not to continue the "quest" for Filbo.

It was one such night, where Wambus had grilled some delicious steaks and corn on the cobs. He also had some homegrown sauces that he'd brought from Snaktooth, which made Buddy a little uneasy. But, the older farmer seemed to know what he was doing with that so he let it go for now.

"You seem to be getting pretty popular, dear." Triffany was saying to Filbo as Buddy doodled in his journal. He flipped it around to show Wambus his idea of a steak-based Bugsnax, only for the farmer to just grunt in acknowledgement. That was good enough for him though and he put the book aside to eat some more.

"Heh, yeah." Filbo rolled his corn on the cob in some butter. "It's all thanks to Buddy, though. He's doing great on the whole 'campaign manager' thing."

"It's not that hard." Buddy shrugged. "Not like you're running for Minister of the Public or something. It's just a few events to plan, and, like, two debates."

"True, but it still seems like a lot of work." Filbo actually looked kind of concerned, but Buddy waved it off.

"It's... it's really not." He told them, even though it kind of was. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a full night's sleep, but it was definitely before Snaktooth.

"It would be tiring to be around all those people all the time." Wambus agreed. "I could never do that."

"Of course not, dear." Triffany agreed. "That's why you're a farmer."

"Yep."

Buddy watched the exchange with a small smile as Filbo took over the conversation, asking after the sauce crops. Whatever problems the couple had, he was glad they were working them out. He didn't want to even think about what would've happened if their marriage had broken up like...

Well, it wasn't good to dwell on it.

Wambus was right though; it was tiring being a campaign manager. He was almost glad the elections were ending soon, if only so he could get some more sleep. And then focus on finding a real job, as his savings were starting to run a little dry.

Still, as he watched his three companions, he felt content with how it was shaping up. Filbo was excitedly explaining all his plans for being Mayor, from replanting the flowers around the walking paths to finally getting the pot holes fixed. He even started explaining his plans to renovate the park in detail before Wambus finally reminded him to actually eat his steak.

"Oh, heh. Right." He cut a piece off, then opened his mouth to keep talking. Buddy took the opportunity to grab his wrist and shove the fork into his mouth.

"Eat it." He told him firmly, to quiet giggling from Triffany. Filbo shot him a glare, but obeyed, chewing quietly. Buddy then grabbed a forkful of his own steak to chew on, ignoring Triffany's pointed look.

The rest of the night passed without incident. In Buddy's opinion, it ended too soon. But then, it always did. And soon enough Buddy was back at his table in his apartment, drawing up more plans for the campaign. Luckily, the people seemed to really like Filbo. Or maybe they just hated Robbzoni that much more. Either way, according to the mid election survey Filbo was looking to be the popular candidate.

Still, he couldn't relax yet, there was still too much to do. The election itself was tomorrow. People would vote in the morning and the results would be announced both that afternoon, and in the next morning's paper. There would be one last speech before the vote though, and Buddy wanted to make sure it was perfect.

However as the time got later, and he had started the speech pretty later anyways, he found himself unwillingly drawn into sleep. Even as he tried to fight it off with copious amounts of caffeine, he inevitably passed out.

When he woke up, it was to Filbo calling him. In a panic, he grabbed his papers and raced out the door, practically flying down the stairs and into his car. He broke several traffic laws, but he managed to get to Kinsing Town Hall just barely on time. As he ran inside, he tried desperately to sort through the garbled mess of a speech he'd written.

He made his way to the backstage area, where Filbo was talking to... someone. Buddy felt like he should know the other Grumpus, but his exhausted mind just refused to make the connection. In any case, as soon as the Grumpus had left he was rushing up to Filbo, rapidly spewing apologies all the way.

"Sorry, sorry! I think I still have some time to, uh, to-to fix this? Maybe?!" His voice rose an octave and he quickly cleared his throat and tried to laugh off the rising panic. "I was up too late I think. Working. On this." He gave another short laugh, internally wincing at how off it sounded.

"Hey hey, it's okay." Filbo had to grab his shoulders, forcing them down from where Buddy had unconsciously hunched into himself. "I've got this one." He told him. Buddy blinked in surprise, hands lowering and almost dropping his papers.

"... You... you 'got' this?" Just what did he mean by that? Was Buddy unneeded? Had he been unneeded this whole time?

"Yeah. Since you've been working so hard lately, I figured I'd just, y'know, handle my own speech for today. " He gave a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, I probably should've told you sooner-Oh!" He jumped at something the Grumpus on stage was saying. "There's my cue! See ya later!" He gave a quick wave before rushing off to get on stage, oblivious to Buddy's aborted attempt to reach for him.

'He didn't need me...' Quietly, Buddy dropped his speech into the trash. He then went for the snack table they had set up to get some coffee. 'I don't know why I even tried.'

The speeches were said, and then the voting happened. The surprising part, at least to Buddy, was that as they each voted the other members of the expedition would come up to them. A couple offered a "Good luck" or two, but none of them really left afterwards. They all hung around, and talked.

It made Buddy feel even more like he shouldn't have come. Filbo had plenty of people to keep him company for this, he didn't need Buddy Nobody did anymore.

So he sat just a little bit outside of the group, speaking only when someone talked to him directly. Other than that, he just drank his coffee quietly and wondered when would be a good time for him to leave.

It turned out never. The others never forgot about him for long enough for him to be able to slip away. Floofty in particular seemed intent on watching him, and they weren't blinking. He knew this because he straight up had a staring contest with the mad scientist, and they didn't blink once.

Soon enough, voting had closed and the votes were being counted. Poor Filbo was anxious through the whole thing, but never said anything about regretting running for mayor. Buddy was actually kind of proud of him for that, if he was being honest. He knew how hard the light blue Grumpus could be on himself, and he was glad he had gained some confidence at least.

Even if it was just another sign that he wasn't a help to him anymore. That he wasn't a help to anyone here anymore.

But, when they announced that Filbo had won, that he'd done it and beat out longtime Mayor Robbzoni, everyone present cheered. And not just the ones from Snaxburg, either, but everyone else who was hanging around. As everyone congratulated the new Mayor, and the MC announced when the official swearing in ceremony would take place, Buddy gave a quiet sigh into his coffee. Mentally, he ticked this quest as complete, but no new objectives came to mind.

"Hey, Buddy!" He looked up to see Filbo waving at him, and gave a small wave back. "We'll all going to Gramble's place to celebrate. You coming?"

Would he go? No. There wasn't anything for him to do there and besides, he had to get started on job hunting.

"... You guys go on ahead. I'll... I'll catch up with you later." There. Now he could go home and the others could get started on whatever came next for them.

Filbo hesitated a moment, searching Buddy's face intently. Then he shrugged and turned to follow the others. "Well, okay. If you're sure."

And then he was gone, along with the rest. Buddy put down his still full cup and stood up, dusting his fur off. He went to his car, a tiny little red thing that really needed to be traded in, and drove down the road back to Gippsenburg. He had a stop to make before he went home to his apartment, and then maybe he could finally work on forgetting everything.

[poliel]

Surprise Egg 2/13: Morning Sickness

I don't have a real solid headcanon for how long grumpus pregnancies last so I'm vague about the passage of time in this fic. But that's not super important anyway.

~

Almost from the start Buddy had made sure to make time to spend with Filbo even though he never requested anything of them after he’d asked them to bring everyone back to town and to assist everyone else if their various problems if possible. Now that they were dating though, Buddy tried to do so a bit more often. It still wasn’t as much as they would’ve liked though. Their story and finding Lizbert had to take precedence. Keeping everyone fed and bringing folk back to town and helping everyone with their things was also important and took up quite a bit of their time as well. Adding in the fact that they were actively exploring the island and testing all the ways they could interact with and catch the various bugsnax scattered across it, they were very busy indeed.

They did what they could though and if Filbo minded he didn’t show it. He seemed happy with whatever time they could find for him. They felt a little guilty about it but that’s just how it was. To make up for it they tried to sleep in town more often, with him if they came in early enough in the night. Which steadily became a thing more and more often because they were just that exhausted.

“You feeling okay, Buddy?” he asked them one evening after they’d stumbled into town with little to show for their hunting efforts.

After doling out what little they had caught, they’d gone to flop down by the firepit to stare into it as they forced themself to eat. So it was their own fault he’d noticed their discomfort. There wasn’t any use complaining about it so they never did but well, he’d asked so… “I’m sick.”

The already worried expression on his face grew more so. “Oh uh, I’d offer to make you some soup or something but uh… yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Except for the fact that it had heavily affected their ability to function today.

Filbo fidgeted with his paws. “You seem to be eating okay though, that’s good.”

“That’s the thing, I feel like I’m going to puke but I’m also starving.” And so they ate, staring into the fire to distract themself from how every ketchup ‘flower’ they ate made them want to throw their guts up a little more. The newfound peanut butter helped though, they should’ve grabbed more of it while up in the mountains earlier, it had yet to grow in the garden since Wambus had planted it literally just yesterday.

“Oh, if only Eggabell was still in town. She’d know how to help.”

“Well, she’s not so… sit with me and talk? Tell me what goes on around town when I’m not here.” A distraction was welcome and spending time chatting with him was always nice.

He still looked a little unsure but sat down next to them anyway. “Okay. After you’re done eating though you should rest.”

Today day was already more of a bust than anything so why not go ahead and waste the rest of it. It’s not like they’d get much done anyway so… “Fine.”

~

The nausea came and went randomly, sometimes worse, sometimes barely there, just a nuisance. The exhaustion and hunger were constants though. Often they were light headed too, standing up and not having blackness eat at the edges of their vision became a rarity. With nothing that could be done about it though they kept trucking on and didn’t complain.

Filbo picked up on the fact they weren’t feeling well though. Insisting they rest more or even take a whole day off. The former they did fairly often when he suggested it, the latter though they couldn’t afford to do. Thankfully, probably due to the fact they often listened to him about the former, he never heavily insisted on the latter, making things easier for both of them.

One thing they were willing to share though was… “Sometimes I want to eat mud.”

On the bed, Filbo looked up from the notebook they’d lent to him at his request to see more of their doodles because he liked them for some reason. “What?”

His tone had enough concern in it to draw Buddy’s gaze up from the notebook they were currently doodling in – a spare that had mostly doodles of bugsnax but would now have a doodle of Filbo flipping through the other notebook. “Sometimes I want to eat mud,” they repeated.

“Uh… why?”

Maybe they shouldn’t have brought it up after all. But the sound of the rain pattering against the hut’s roof and the view they had of it through the window as they sat at Filbo’s little table had brought it to mind in general. Making the craving return. “I don’t know. It’s really weird though, huh?” They’d never felt like that before.”

“Okay, but um… you’re not ever going to, right?”

“Of course not. I also really want to eat the bugsnax but like mud, I know it’d be worse for me if I did.”

Filbo was silent for a few seconds before flipping the journal closed and rolled out of bed and walking over and sit at the table across from them. “Maybe it’s time you uh, take a break or something? Go back to the mainland, get some real food and then come back.”

“I can’t.”

“I’m sure we’d all be fine on our own without you for a couple weeks.”

“I’m sure you would be. But I can’t go back until the story’s done. And the longer Lizbert’s missing, the worse her situation could be for all we know. If I take the time to go back to the mainland, she could be dead even before I return to start looking for her again.” Which would be bad in general and would hurt the conclusion of their big story.

Filbo sighed, hanging his head. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. I’m just worried about you.”

Buddy had already known that of course but… it was nice to hear. So nice it made them almost feel like crying. Which was dumb, it wasn’t that big a deal, so why were they so emotional? … “I’ll be fine,” they said instead, putting on a smile for him. “I’ve been through similar hardships before and came out fine.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I was lost in the woods for like a whole month apparently when looking for Moth-grump once. And while that’s far less time than I’ve spent here so far, I didn’t have a reliable source of food or water and no shelter whatsoever.”

“That sounds pretty awful.”

“It was.” Even if sauce, dandelions, and tree sap from the Surgerpine trees wasn’t much it was at least consistent, plentiful, and took no energy to find and collect. Even if for some reason they felt worse off here they couldn’t be, right? Especially since they weren’t really losing much weight, they’d started to at first but seemed to have evened out. “But it was worth it, just like this is going to be. … Or it was almost worth it.”

“What happened?”

“I got concrete evidence the Moth-grump is real, pictures and video, everything you could possibly ask for. It was going to be my biggest story. But then, after I got back to civilization, before I was even fully recovered from being lost in the woods for a month, I got mugged and robbed. They stabbed me three times, stole all my stuff and left me for dead. And now no one believes me and I couldn’t find the cave again when I tried because I’d been that lost. And I’m still mad about it.”

As they’d talked Filbo had leaned forward on the table in interest, his expression going from intrigued to worried to frightened before settling on a mix of bemusement and concern. “You sound almost uh, more mad about them ruining your story than them trying to kill you.”

“I am. Well, I’m mad they tried to kill me too but… it was going to be such a good story. And now no one I tell believes me. My boss thought I was making up excuses for why I was gone so long and didn’t have anything until I went to office to show her the stab wounds. And even then, she didn’t believe me about the Moth-grump. No one does.”

“I believe you. I mean like, if bugsnax exist, why can’t Moth-grump?”

As they looked up at him, they were almost overwhelmed with how much they loved him, letting it out in a purr. Was being overly emotional a normal symptom of malnutrition? “Thank you! This story’s going to be better anyway though and no one’s going to take it from be this time. It’s worth whatever I have to go through to get the full thing.”

He smiled at them warmly. “You’re very passionate about your work, huh?”

“Yeah. Hunting cryptids is kind of my thing.” Had been for as long as they could remember. “Though, solving any mystery is cool too and I do ghost hunting stories pretty often as well, those are always fun.”

“Could you tell me more about uh… the stuff you hunt and… stuff? If you want to anyway. I’m just curious and uh… I’ve never actually asked you about that before, huh? I’m always doing most of the talking. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine.” Buddy didn’t typically bring up their specific work with people since they often got looked down on for it so it was a habit not to. Also… “I like listening to other grumps talk, especially if it’s you. I’ll gladly tell you more though, what do you want to hear about, if anything in particular?” And he’d already convince them to take the rest of the evening off so it’s not like they had anywhere else to be right now.

“Uh… more about the Moth-grump maybe?”