Bump

A character in the Falling Into College fanfiction series by Richard Lobinske, **Bump** is a black short-haired cat with white front paws and a white snout, and the pet of Daria Morgendorffer.

## *Falling into College* Bump

Bump (also known as "Your Grace," "The Lady of The House," "She-Who-Walks-Softly", "Daughter of Bast"), and most famously - 'your Goddess, made her first appearance in the FIC episode "Bump in the Night," where she was living in the BFAC Exhibit Hall (or was at least inside at the time). It was during a Halloween party that Bump presented Daria with a gift of a rodent she had killed, and lay it atop her feet to show that she had chosen her. Bump was spayed at the Raft Vet School in "The Last Piece Falls," and in "For This, We’re Thankful," made Helen very nervous when she brushed against her ankles during preparation of the Thanksgiving dinner. (This incident caused Helen to reveal that, while living in a commune in her younger days, she had several unpleasant experiences with rats. This could also be a possible reason why Daria and Quinn were never allowed to have pets as children.)

Bump is quite spoiled by Daria; it is revealed in "I Meant to Do That" that Daria feeds Bump fresh fish—grouper—every Sunday morning, and has refrained from buying Bump a bone-china feeding dish only for fear of it being stepped on by her roommates. Because of the way Daria cares for Bump, Jane Lane has mentioned that Daria seems to actually possess maternal instincts, but also muses that being an aunt may be the best course for her.

Bump is obviously very fond of Daria, and (in cat language) refers to her as "The Chosen One." She calls Michael Fulton "Searcher in Earth" due to him smelling faintly of soil after his archeological work. She refers to Karen Myerson as "The Friend of Many Animals," because of her ongoing veterinary training, and Jane as "The Window Maker," due to her paintings. Bump is also somewhat agitated with Jane, as she purchases sushi pizza but chooses not to share. (This incident occured in I Meant to Do That, and was hilariously parodied by TAG on the PPMB thread where the fic was first posted.) In fics, Richard has begun to allow Bump a greater 'speaking role', complete with a translation of what the cat is saying.

In A Home at Summer’s End (chronologically, Bump's first appearance), it is revealed that Bump was a homeless animal that wandered the streets of Boston since she was a kitten. It was also revealed that Bump's family consisted of her mother, two sisters and a brother, all of whom are now deceased. Bump witnessed the death of her sister Sissy, a tortoise-shell cat who had the same markings as their mother, when she was (presumably) killed by a red car at a student parking garage. Amy Barksdale drives a red car, as revealed in "I Don't," as does Helen Morgendorffer (her SUV), but it is unknown if either one was responsible for the death of Bump's sister. In the story, Bumpmas, it was revealed that she also had a brother. He also wrote a brief "Red Dwarf" crossover that made a clone of Bump (created by Karen and Derek after the death of the original Bump) the start of the lineage that led to Lister's cat Frankenstein. This clone, named 'Night' by Daria, was not spayed and allowed to have litters of kittens.

Bump made two appearances in the *Judith Strikes/Worldburner* crossovers, set in FiC continuity: in the first, Bump led other cats in defeating the world-hopping supervillain Judith's schemes. In the second, a more powerful Judith slaughtered Bump in revenge before destroying the rest of the FiC universe.

## Alternate Bumps

Brother Grimace has mentioned on several occasions that Bump is his favorite Falling Into College character, and has used the character in several fanfics; the darkest fic to feature the character was an AU post-apocalyptic fic entitled "Pet Food." He also used Bump as the Red Paws Force Power Ranger in his Fandemonium entries, and was the one that issued the challenge that inspired Richard Lobinske to write a FIC story, "I Meant to Do That," that focuses on Bump and her adventures with Daria & company over the course of a Sunday. He has also written two crossover fics about Bump: a Stargate SG-1-themed piece titled Bump, The System Lord, and Piano Practice, which is based on the Walt Disney film High School Musical 2. In Balance, Brother Grimace wrote that Sissy was saved immediately after the accident in "A Home at Summer's End" and, via a complicated process, reunited with Bump after "Bumpmas".

Recently, thread "bumps" at PPMB to encourage authors to continue or complete stories have featured Bump in comic mini-scenes.

In the Daylight fic 'The Hope Mission, it is revealed during a conversation between Quinn and Danielle Todds that Derek and Karen survived Zero Hour, along with Bump (now Daria's pet), and that it was Karen who presented Daria with the cat. (Quinn, however, believes that Bump simply decided that Daria was a better choice as 'the head of her personal staff' - and is astounded that Daria uses her personal connections and influence to procure fresh fish for the cat once a week.)

In the Legion of Lawndale Heroes mini, *Beta Testing*, alternate versions of Bump and her sister Sissy were rescued by the Ringbearer Archangel and brought to Legion Tower to be adopted by Daria. The LLH mini *Cats' Night Out* indicated that the pair could converse with other animals, hinting at them being given limited Defender Ring gifts.