Raft

### Backstory/Canon

The Stumpt crew awaken on their 4x4 wooden raft in open water strewn with garbage, and quickly assess the situation: It seems they are in the Great Pacific garbage patch, and must begin expanding the raft for safety against a ravenous circling shark. Upon further reflection, it is revealed that the Stumpt crew were guests on Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Cruise, where the cruise ship was unfortunately destroyed by Chris Jericho's overzealous use of his Walls of Jericho move on the captain of the ship (perhaps implied to be Captain Lou). The brawl between Chris Jericho and the captain is alleged to have been instigated by Jas after too many blueberry daiquiris, but Jas cannot confirm due to amnesia caused by the aforementioned excess of daiquiris. The garbage found in the water is implied to be the wreckage of that same cruise ship, and the Stumpt crew set out to build a new cruise ship to surpass that of Chris Jericho, later christened the Rainbowt.

The Rainbowt eventually becomes home to a lovely bar and grill on the upper level, variously called Feline Fowl, and The Gull Post. The luxurious accommodations of the Rainbowt include bottle service, and delectable chicken of the sea\*.

\*gull

#### Aenne the Shark

In Raft, the Shark persistently attacks the periphery of the raft, and any crew members swimming nearby. During the first episode, Price proposed to name the shark Alfonse, to the chagrin of Jas who preferred the name Bruce (the shark from Finding Nemo). However, during the second episode, the Stumpt crew settled on the name Aenne .

#### McConnegull the Seagull

In addition to the threat of the shark, a pestilence is bestowed upon farmers in Raft: seagulls that peck at and destroy crops in small crop plots. The Stumpt crew gave these seagulls the eponym McConnegulls, after Senate Majority Leader and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, and they bootstrap their meagre beginnings into success despite the constant interference of the McConnegulls.

Later in the series, it is revealed that Tommy's family employs the McConnegulls for communication purposes, so the McConnegulls are invited as guests to the inauguration of The Gull Post.

#### Tommy the Scaregull

In order to mitigate the interference of the McConnegulls, the Stumpt crew build/hire an intern Scaregull to stand guard over their crops. This intern, named Tommy, is a #1 American football star and is dressed in the same jersey as Fake Rik. Tommy plays as a defensive lineman, but "doesn't know how to handle those feelings".

Tommy serves the rest of the crew well as intern, lending them support for getting onto islands, and attracting/distracting the McConnegulls from the crops, even when he lost his arms. Quoth Price,

> "Like a great partner on this boat, when we needed it, you lifted us up with those strong arms, both figuratively and literally. And when times were tough, and the gulls they were a'comin', you just sat there and you just let those gulls air their grievances at you."
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Toward the end of the series, the crew asks Tommy to invite his family for the inauguration of The Gull Post, and several members of his family arrive to attend: Timmy, Jimmy, Bobby, Billy, Sally, and Susan. At the inauguration itself, Tommy is promoted to first mate, and given much praise and gifts along with many warnings about his future maintaining the Rainbowt.

#### Lucky Cat

Lucky Cat, and his evolved+Super Saiyan form Golden Cat, are the plastic deities that emerged from the water. They guide the adventures of the Stumpt crew, and provide them with protection. It is said that only by Lucky Cat's waving hand is Rik kept safe from the butt-tickling temptations of Aenne. Everyone except for Price shows their devotion to Lucky Cat by wearing shark heads and offering themselves to Lucky Cat, head first. Several shrines are erected to Lucky Cat, although the final shrine of the Rainbowt is constructed under the guise of a bar, with Lucky Cat as the bartender.

> Rik: "Jasmin, this ship is still in one piece because Lucky Cat made it so. Do NOT make him angry!"
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> Price: "We live and die by his hand. The hand that goes up and down and up and down."
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> Rik: "That's right, don't make it go down and stay down!"
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> Ash: "Yeah, you need an extra quarter to make it go back up again."
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> Rik: "It's almost like Caesar with the thumb up and down: It's up and down because he's not sure which way he's gonna go. But he'll settle one of these days. And when he does, you want it to be up."
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**Not to be confused with c:friends:Smelly\_Cat**

#### Duckwaith Duckbird

Duckwaith Duckbird is another plastic entity fished out of the water by the Stumpt crew. As opposed to Lucky Cat's deity standing, Duckwaith Duckbird takes his fame from the music industry, where his band Down 2 Duck has produced a number of hits, including The Caboose is Loose, These Boots Were Made to Waddle (actually sung by Mallard Duckbird, II, not his son Duckwaith Duckbird), You're So Floor (Above Me), Big Big Woman, Fowl Play, Ducky's Paradise, Addicted to Quack, and A Thousand Leagues. Duckwaith's previous bands and offshoots have garnered much acclaim, including Daft Duck, though Daft Duck did encounter some legal problems with Daffy Duck. Duckwaith Duckbird is also a longtime friend of Gwen Stefani, and wrote the original lyrics to Just a Duck, though Gwen had to change some lyrics due to controversial choices of rhymes with the word Duck. Duckwaith is certainly not the first musical Duck of repute, as the Stumpt crew do invoke the likes of Duck Morrison and Duckwaith's father, Mallard Duckbird, II.

### Unofficial extensions of canon

Though the official backstory to Stumpt's adventures in Raft is quite extensive, certain parts remain unclear, thus unofficial extensions of this canon have been proposed.

For instance, during episode , Price sings "This Bait Was Made for Nommin'", and Jas attempts to correct him regarding Down 2 Duck's original lyrics. Unbeknownst to Jas, Aenne (the Shark) has been a ravenous fan of Down 2 Duck, and actually released a cover under the title "This Bait Was Made for Nommin'". This also explains Aenne's persistent attacks on the raft and the crew, as she is simply trying to get closer to her idol, Down 2 Duck. The crew do finally invite Aenne to the inauguration of The Gull Post, including a star performance of Wonderwall by Down 2 Duck.

Another unresolved issue is which body of water the crew is floating across. At various points in time, the crew state they are either on the ocean (unspecified as to which one, except for the implication of the Pacific due to the Great Pacific garbage patch) or on Lake Michigan. However, based on the evidence of the map of the world post-flooding found in one of the Friends episodes, it is entirely possible that water levels have risen so much that the Pacific Ocean has merged with Lake Michigan, hence both answers are correct. This resolution also accounts for the answer of the Atlantic Ocean, which is where Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wrestling Cruise took place.

### References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 2 Duck - Raft - #25 (Raft Multiplayer Gameplay)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Voyage! - Raft - #30 [FINAL (Raft Multiplayer Gameplay)]
3. ↑ CRUISE CRASHED! - Raft - #1 (Raft Multiplayer Gameplay)
4. ↑ the Hungry Shark - Raft - #2 (Raft Multiplayer Gameplay)
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Invitations - Raft - #27 (Raft Multiplayer Gameplay)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 GULLS!!! - Raft - #4 (Raft Multiplayer Gameplay)
7. ↑ Cat: Ruler of Trash - Raft - #3 (Raft Multiplayer Gameplay)
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Sharky Boyz - Raft - #9 (Raft Multiplayer Gameplay)
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Boy! - Raft - #28 (Raft Multiplayer Gameplay)
10. ↑ DOUBT! - Raft - #29 (Raft Multiplayer Gameplay)