💬 0 🔁 10 ❤️ 16 · I see SOOOO much potential for angst, and I raise you this proposition:
Is Pumbaa even his real name?
Over the years I'
@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??
@lyraspace Tumblr won’t let me respond to this Ask the normal way for some reason, I’m sorry. But my GOD this was too beautiful and heart wrenching not to share.
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Oh ho. Ohhhhhh ho. OoooooKAY. You’re just gonna casually drop poetry like that in my ask box and expect me not to cry?! Like my nose genuinely hurts from trying to keep the tears from coming. 😭
I can feel the ache here. Deeply. That feeling of being unable to fathom how others have never looked at Pumbaa the way that he sees him. But also, simultaneously being so grateful that Pumbaa chose him. HIM.
And I think there’s another layer here. That feeling of wondering what he did to deserve being looked at so lovingly with those beautiful, kind eyes. And wondering if one day, those eyes will wake up and see him for what he really is. 😢
How do you think Simba views Timon and Pumbaa's relationship? I take him to be the type of kid that maybe had an inkling that something was there, but didn't ask too many questions because he was right smack dab in the middle of his "romance and girls (except Nala) are icky" phase.
But as an adult, do you think he'd start putting two and two together? What does he think of Mya and Kanisha?
OKAY. Get ready, because in order to answer that, I gotta dive into the full Timeline of Timon and Pumbaa’s Love Story™ as dictated by yours truly, a completely mentally stable adult who is totally not overthinking and definitely normal about the Meerkat and Warthog.
(UGH btw I am always so nervous to talk about my headcanons regarding the nature of Timon and Pumbaa’s relationship. I’m so scared y’all are gonna read it and then not wanna play dolls with me anymore. AHHHHHH GOD. I’m so self-conscious. Please don’t hate me. HAAA)
(AND ALSO. Let it be known that I am IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, trying to claim that my headcanon is better or more accurate than other people’s readings on their dynamic!!! I just like my ship dynamics full of self loathing and denial LMFAOOO. So PLEASE. I beg you. Believe me when I say that other headcanons are VALID. You think they are together by the time TLG rolls around? Hell yeah! That’s valid. That’s canon supported. This is just my personal headcanon, the story I want to tell, and my explanation for it!!!)
But yeah, I love the Timbaa ship dearly. Y’all know this. But my personal headcanon is a slow burn comprised of intense yearning, emotional repression, and two idiot soulmates tripping over their own feelings for years. If you’re looking for a full-blown romantic confession in TLK 1.5, you will not find it here. However, you will find an intimate, cohabitating bond that just hasn’t yet been defined.
ANYWAYS. Long post ahead. Possibly spicy and/or controversial viewpoint on our favorite ship under the cut.
Let’s just rip off the band-aid:
I don’t think Timon and Pumbaa are a romantic couple in any of the canon material.
Not yet, anyways. (PLEASE STAY WITH ME. DON’T BOO ME OFF THE STAGE OR THROW TOMATOES AT ME YET.)
In my reading of their dynamic, they don’t even consciously realize they’re in love until after the events of TLK2, and even then it takes them a long time to process and talk about it.
So, that said, during the jungle-raising-Simba years, I don’t think they are together romantically. They’re bonded, inseparable, and raising a kid together, yes. But Timon especially is not emotionally mature enough to recognize or name what they have. And Simba, as a cub, doesn’t really question it. To him, they’re just… his weird bachelor uncles/dads/guardians. They all sleep in the same nest. They finish each other’s sentences. They hunt for grubs together. Simba, who, like you said, probably thinks kissing is gross and romance is weird, probably doesn’t even consider the idea of them being a couple. They’re just his goofy jungle dads. End of story.
And that “bestest best friends” energy stays through Simba’s young adulthood. Especially when you factor in Timon’s freak-out over Simba and Nala falling in love. He’s just… spiraling into a melodramatic panic. Screaming about how romance has ruined everything. Scheming to break them up. If Timon were comfortably in a romantic relationship himself, this reaction would be strange, to say the least. That’s why I believe that, put plainly, he’s NOT in a romantic relationship at this point.
He’s terrified of emotional intimacy. He’s already operating at max capacity with how much he cares about Pumbaa and Simba, and he doesn’t know how to process the idea of change, loss, or love that can take someone away or cause someone to “abandon” him.
And then we hit The Lion Guard, and I know what you’re all thinking: “But Camy, doesn’t Bunga call them his uncles and try to dangle mistletoe over their heads?”
Yes. And the part of me that’s Timbaa trash LOVES that. It makes my shipper brain go BRRRRRRRRR. BUT! I still don’t think that contradicts my reading of their dynamic.
Because Bunga is a little kid. He sees two adults who live together, love each other, and raised him. I mean, what kid would have the vocabulary for “queerplatonic life partners who haven’t Defined-The-Relationship?” He just assumes, logically, “They must be in love.” And he’s not wrong! They uh… kinda ARE in love. (In avoidant denial about it, but still!) However, Bunga is, perhaps, projecting the only framework of relationships that he understands.
Meanwhile, Timon and Pumbaa do not correct him. Because 1) THEY don’t even know what they are, and 2) they probably avoid the conversation entirely, because that’s what they do. It’s what they’ve BEEN doing for YEARS.
NOW! Let’s talk about TLK2. Because that is where things get juicy. (And I’m gonna reference something here that is kiiiiiiinda shitty writing when it comes to T&P’s characterization and dynamic, but it’s UNFORTUNATELY canon. As much as I despise it.)
Just before the battle between the Pridelanders and Outsiders commences, Timon and Pumbaa are seen pacing around the cave in Priderock, ARGUING. Throwing blame around over whose fault it is that Kiara has gone missing, arguing over who was meant to be watching her. And then the argument escalates PHYSICALLY. (It’s cartoony violence and full of slapstick thats played for laughs, but it’s STILL A PHYSICAL ALTERCATION.)
And as much as I HATE the idea of T&P canonically having a FIST FIGHT this late in their relationship, there are ASPECTS of this scene that are character consistent with Timon.
Because Timon, especially under pressure, will often deflect blame to someone else, overreact, and do everything in his power to avoid addressing a hard feeling (such as shame, guilt, failure, etc.)
So this little altercation is Timon’s worst coping mechanism flaring up. He doesn’t know how to process the feeling of “I failed someone I love,” so he yells, lashes out, and frames it as Pumbaa’s fault.
And this is the part that’s SUPER WEIRD for Pumbaa’s characterization in TLK 2: instead of pushing back in a mature way, Pumbaa INSTIGATES the physical altercation. He just… literally body slams Timon. And then keeps rolling with the petty arguments and name calling, because he’s used to it… ?!?!! I guess?! He’s not just enabling the behavior, but engaging in it!
Again, absolutely WILD writing choice for Timon and Pumbaa. But it is what it is.
And then, who walks in on them mid cartoony slapstick brawl? …Simba.
Anyways, as far as ADULT Simba’s perception goes, with him walking in on them fighting like this, I don’t imagine that would read as romantic couple behavior to him. At least, not healthy romantic couple behavior. 😭
Anyways, with that being where their dynamic is when Kiara is a young adult, that reads to me as a dynamic that is both REAL and INTIMATE, but also as one that hasn’t been processed or named as romantic yet. They love each other to death, but to me, it feels like they haven’t figured out how they love each other.
For my personal headcanon, their behavior in TLK 2 reinforces for me that Timon and Pumbaa are deeply emotionally bonded, yes, but VERY emotionally stunted.
They’ve been living together, raised two children together, and shared every moment of their lives together, but they haven’t had the conversation. They haven’t defined what they are.
And when under pressure, Timon, especially, deflects with blame and over-the-top aggression. Then Pumbaa enables it, and even retaliates in kind. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that they don’t know how to fight like partners yet. They still fight like immature, overgrown kids.
So yeaaah, let’s talk about the REAL reason that I don’t think Timon and Pumbaa are in a romantic relationship until post TLK 2:
✨Emotional Immaturity and Avoidance™✨
And by that, I mean Timon.
Timon feels things. DEEPLY. But he is comically incapable of handling those feelings. He copes through sarcasm, avoidance, projection, and control. He’s got a thousand-and-one defense mechanisms and he deploys them the second anyone gets too close.
And yet, Timon loves Pumbaa. But he can’t say it. Not directly. The closest he gets is through jokes, panic confessions, or deeply buried moments of truth that leak out when he’s overwhelmed.
And that’s why, to me, they don’t become a romantic couple until AFTER TLK 2. Because they had to grow. They had to hurt. They had to reckon with it. And eventually, they had to TALK TO EACH OTHER, DAMNIT.
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NOW. To address the “Mya and Kanisha” part of the question.
If Timon and Pumbaa had spent years living in an undefined, queerplatonic bubble, where they were deeply bonded, but never labeled it or addressed it, then Mya and Kanisha are what finally push that bubble to burst.
Simba, growing up with them, likely saw their closeness as “just how they were.” They were inseparable, affectionate, always there for each other, and bestest best friends. But it wasn’t something he really questioned. To him, it was just Timon and Pumbaa. As an adult, though, he PROBABLY started to notice the emotional complexity that was always there beneath the surface, and wondered what was actually going on.
Now, enter Mya and Kanisha, and everything shifts.
…Sooo, I’ve written a long ass essay on this already, so I’m not gonna go super into detail here. BUT.
Mya challenges Timon in a way no one else ever has. She sees through the bravado and refuses to indulge his usual shtick. She sort of demands sincerity from him. Not like… directly, but in the way her own avoidant behaviors trigger him. That alone would intrigue Simba, because, like, who THE HELL is this meerkat that can fluster TIMON into stunned silence? But when he sees Mya bring out this raw, horrified vulnerability in Timon, he starts putting the pieces together. Because Timon has never let anyone, besides Pumbaa, into his soul like that.
Then there’s Kanisha, who, unlike Mya, doesn’t crack Timon open so much as stabilize the group dynamic and demand honesty by her presence alone. She’s big, she’s BLUNT, and she’s more than a little intimidating. She speaks in a commanding voice. And she also brings something new: She connects with Pumbaa in a way that isn’t filtered through Timon.
So, early on in the story, Pumbaa is rekindling this friendship with Kanisha, and it becomes something of his own that Timon can’t control or manipulate. Which, in turn, forces Timon to reckon with his jealousy, his possessiveness, and his desperation for control.
And perhaps that’s when Simba begins starts to see it. Because for the first time in a long time, Simba sees Timon a little emotionally off-balance. He’s jealous, and protective, and hypocritical, and insecure, and VULNERABLE.
And then Simba starts to think… hmm. Maybe something has always been going on between Timon and Pumbaa. Maybe they just didn’t know how to talk about it.
So between Mya cracking him open and Kanisha grounding him, Timon is finally forced to do the work. He has to stop deflecting so much. He has to name the feelings he’s been too afraid to acknowledge. And one of those feelings, the one that was always there, hiding behind all the jokes and loyalty and avoidance, was this:
He’s been in love with Pumbaa for YEARS.
But he just couldn’t say it. He couldn’t let himself know it. Because if he admitted that, he’d have to believe he was worthy of it. If he admitted that, he would have to accept that Pumbaa has the power to hurt him. He would have to admit that he doesn’t have as much control in the relationship as he thought. And he’d have to face the fact that if Pumbaa walked away, that would make life lose all of its meaning for him. And back then, he just wasn’t ready to FACE THAT.
So, what does Simba think of Mya and Kanisha? He’s grateful for them. Not just because they love and care for the two most important figures of his cubhood, but because they helped Timon and Pumbaa grow and helped them finally say the QUIET PART OUT LOUD!!
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Omg. Sorry for spiraling and going on a rant again. Idk what else y’all would expect from me now, tbh. Lmaooo
I hope I answered your question somewhere in there!!! 🥲
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.
Is adopting another child off the table for Timon and Pumbaa after Mya, Kanisha, and the kids come into the picture?
I would say it’s not off the table!! These guys are feral about their kids. (I don’t care how much Timon complains about it, he NEVER ends up saying “no” to adopting a kiddo.)
So yeaaaaah, if the four of them stumble across another helpless little baby in need of some care, you bet your ass they’ll adopt them.
Also FUCK YOU live action TLK Timon for saying you hate kids. GET TF OUTTA HERE WITH THAT CHARACTER ASSASSINATION DISNEY.
Timon doth protest a lot, but he is a family man, sorry. 💅
I have a feeling that one of the kids at some point came across one of these bugs
And just...
Out of curiosity...
Started copying it.
My money's on Lina or Tamika
Oh hell yeah, YOU’RE RIGHT.
I’m thinking Lina started it because she VERY hyperactive and prone to stimming, and Tamika would absolutely join in on whatever shenanigans she was getting up to!!!
I imagine they would get really into it and commit to the bit to the point that they’d start creeping out the adults 😩
