How is fur color passed down through grumpuses?
A post about grumpus genetics
I know that the number one question regarding this topic is how on earth Snorpy and Floofty are complete opposites on the color wheel, and we'll get to that. But to get to that point, we have to talk about how the pigments in grumpus fur work. This is purely theoretical and not based in any canon whatsoever, it's just a very nice excuse for me to make charts. ONTO THOSE CHARTS!
At a very very basic level, there are three genes associated with grumpus fur color. They are called the M, Y and C genes after the colors they represent; Magenta, Yellow and Cyan respectively.
All hues of grumpus fur are combinations of these three genes. However, they are not all that goes into the determination of a grumpus' fur color. Alongside our friends M Y and C, we have their less common siblings, K and D! The K and D genes reflect the darkness and lightness of the fur color respectively.
(They don't have letters in this diagram. You'll get why later)
However, obviously every grumpus doesn't have the same amount of each pigment. That's where a handy distinction comes in: m, y, c, k and d are weaker versions of their respective genes. You'll be seeing a lot more of them than their full brightness counterparts. In fact, K and D are so dark and light that they're regarded as mostly theoretical genes, as either of them being active would make the fur entirely black or white.
Okay! We have all our letters sorted out. Three colors, two shades, and we know what they all mean. So, how do we take these and turn them into actual colors we can use? Let's use an example to demonstrate.
Filbo here is going to be our example color. He's cyan, but far less saturated than the pure C pigment. So he has one strong C gene, one weak k gene, and one weak d gene. He lacks the M and Y genes entirely. This results in him being the mellow light blue we all know.
You may have noticed that little "code" in the top left of the image. "Ckd" is the identification for his specific fur shade! Every fur shade can be identified with a code in this way. If a grumpus were to have all 5 genes active at the same time, that code would be MYCKD. No matter the strength of each gene, the order will always be the same. Magenta, Yellow, Cyan, Dark, Light. Absent genes are omitted from the code. Let's look at a few more examples so you can see what I mean.
Gramble's code is myd. It's fully lower case, as all three of his genes are the weak variations of their respective pigments. Weak m, weak y, and weak d.
Wiggle's code, mmY, may seem confusing at first, with its fancy double M. A doubled weak gene being part of a code means that the pigment it's associated with is a weaker version of the standard weak gene. There isn't an equivalent for the strong genes, as you can't get more pigmented than the pure pigment. To explain it simply, the strong gene is 100% pigment, the weak gene is 50% pigment, and the double weak gene is 25% pigment. Just know that if you see two letters in a row, it means that only an itty bitty bit of that pigment is in the final color.
With all our knowledge put together, Triffany's lengthy code can be understood. Weak m, strong Y, weak c, and double weak d. Her final color is only slightly lighter than the green you would get from just the code mYc.
Cool! Now we know how fur pigmentation works, and how to identify a color code. When do we get to the genetics stuff? RIGHT NOW BABY
A grumpus' fur color isn't just a 50/50 split between their parents. If it was, every grumpus would be a gross shade of grey or brown in a generation or two. Instead, there's a (somewhat) predictable way that each different gene combines.
The simplest combination is between two pure hues. A strong M and a strong C will result in a weak mc. Why is it a weak mc? Because when passed down, each pigment will get a bit weaker to account for the other pigment being added. This keeps the fur colors from getting too dark and saturated too fast.
The opposite is true when two grumpuses share a color gene. In this case, each parent's weak m gene combined into a strong M gene. Their strong Y and C turn into a weak y and c, which combined with the strong M, make that lovely purple. I think a somewhat random color is a much better compromise than the sort of sad grey that the kid would be if their parents colors were simply blended together.
Unlike color pigments, shade pigments cancel each other out instead of combining. So, a weak k gene and a weak d gene will simply vanish, leaving only the colored pigments. This is to prevent colors from getting too desaturated and grey. Grumpuses are colorful, dammit, I want them to stay colorful!
These are all very basic overviews of how colors are passed down through grumpus family lines. Let's look at a practical example now. You heard that right. It's finally time to look at those damn Fizzlebean siblings. Floofty's the older one, so let's start with them.
Getting this color from the previous codes is really really weird. I mean, where did the k gene come from? That's where things get complicated. So, get ready everyone, we're going another generation back!
As with humans, grumpus color and shade genes can be passed down by grandparents that "skip" a generation. The double weak k gene comes from their grandparent's weak k gene, that just so happened to skip over their parent. Perhaps both family lines had recessive K genes that then manifested in Floofty? I'm just saying shit at this point. Enough with Floofty, let's bring in THE OTHER ONE!!!
If Floofty had too many pigments in their color, then Snorpy seems to have too few. With a strong M and weak m from his parents, he logically should have a strong or weak m gene, not a double weak one. How do I explain this? That's the key: I don't. In this fur color theory, I'm presuming that Snorpy has a condition that gives him a heavy magenta deficiency. Come on, man. It was really hard to make a pair of siblings being purple and yellow work. Give me a break.
Also, if you look at Snorpy's code, it may seem familiar. That's right! Snorpy and Wiggle are genetically the same color. Isn't that fucked up and evil?
This is also an excellent segway into my next point. See how neither Wiggle nor Snorpy are exactly the color produced by mmY? While a code can get very very close to a grumpus' fur color, it'll never be truly exact. Genetics are unpredictable! It does let us have the very funny fact of Wiggle and Snorpy being technically the same color though. If you tried to tell Wiggle she was actually yellow, she would think you're colorblind. If you tried to tell Snorpy he was actually orange, he would think it's a government plot to gaslight him into not even trusting his own eyes.
I don't have any more examples. That's basically how my grumpus fur color theory works! You are all free to bask in my newfound glory of freeing the Bugsnax fandom from gross greyish fankids. Go forth and think far too hard about video game muppet colors. Frankie out.
