Advent Calendar: Let's Play 24 games!

I thought it was cute in the beginning, in a melancholic way of cute.
Then I got ending 4.

Oh, they all look so tasty...

But I'm craving some graham crackers.



Nothing makes Mandy smile like graham-chan. Sorry, Jake.



...



Are you offering her insect ass?

Wow, Mandy, you must have been starving! There're only a few crumbs left.



[Not shown: Jake's swallowing dryly as he watches Mandy pocket his breakfast.]

Andy shrugs off the thanks, instead asking us where we'll be going. Damnit, nothing's free in this ant-sized world!



Well? Where shall we tell Andy we're going?

.... Ew.

Let's go to the white board.

Let's tell the ant. So we know where he is when we get big so we can crush his creepy insectoid frame.

Let's go doodle on the whiteboard

To the whiteboard it is!



Oh, good, the illegal shrinking ray is in the science room. At least there's some semblance of sanity here.



...you don't work out much, do you, Jake?

While Jake struggles to shove his lungs back into place, Mandy searches for the quizzical bug.



THE MOST RUTHLESS QUIZMASTER THIS SIDE OF THE WHITEBOARD.

I feel like pinching her cheeks.

So can we win some crumbs now?



Oh hey, did you know ladybugs love to nom on aphids? Better not let Lily meet Andy...



THIS GAME. IT'S SO EDUMACATIONAL.

It's false, I guess? DAMN I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY! But something tells me it's actually 180

It is most definitely NOT 360

LIES AND SLANDER.



She's so happy to be giving food away.

Her next question is about the number of colors in a rainbow -- simple enough that we now have four more crumbs to our name.



Still none for Jake's stomach, though.



Wait, why are none of these science questions?

It's a wolf. I kinda get Latin sometimes.

Maybe she likes making good deeds.

IT'S ALWAYS LUPUS.



Deji-who?

Hey, wait, come back here!



...Well, we're seven crumbs closer, now!

Climbing a hundred times your height can be pretty tiring. Mandy drops off to sleep almost instantly.



Or, at least, she tries. You know, if you're so tired that you can't fall asleep?



Girl's gotta do somethin', though. Which is it?

Count sheep!

Take a walk. We might run into possible love interest! Maybe a handsome butterfly.

Mandy gets up to go to a walk...



...and nothing happens. No nighttime sexytimes? No handsome butterflies?

WHATASCAM.



Jake doesn't seem to be doing so hot, either. Might have to do with how he didn't eat at all yesterday. Mebbe.



But who cares? Andy brought us breakfast again! Time to gorge!

Muffin!



There's no denying.

I'm pretty pleased I could answer all the questions so far. Less pleased I never seem to be around when they're asked.

Muffin!

Do you know the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man...



Hon, a blueberry is bigger than you and Jake combined. You wouldn't even be able to bite it. Don't get your hopes up.



Jake isn't. Why can't you be more down like Jake, Mandy?



...Why does the entire insect industry run on gossip?

The only one we didn't visit yet.

...this classroom looks nearly identical to the last one.



Holy hell, six hours? Why didn't you turn around?!

Mandy and Jake fall to bickering -- it's so nice to have a routine -- when



ANDY?! How did you beat us here?!

...nevermind. We just want our crumbs now.



Why am I handing over my crumbs?

...Oh shit, do we lose crumbs for being wrong?



FUCK, SORRY, MANDY, JAKE. YOU'RE STUCK TINY FOREVER.

SERIOUSLY, WHAT? Welp.

...Quick, to the Bat-Google!

Well that explains the godawful spelling of "chocolate".



One more crumb to fatten Morgrim with!



"Sacramento."

...at least spell the answer right!



You're right, it is when you spell the damn answer incorrectly.



MY EYES. MY EYES.

So I just realized: if we don't get unshrunk, does that mean we'll be stuck answering quiz questions forever?

WORST BAD END.

a squared plus b squared equals c squared.

If he asks for the solution to the goddamn logarithmic differential equation, I am LEAVING.

That's easy. a squared + b squared = c squared.

Or at least that's how I remember it.

Oh, it IS. Ever since he asked, all I heard in my head was my teacher telling me "one catede squared plus the other catede squared equls the hypotenuse squared." over and over.

And we didn't lose a single crumb!



...that's it? We crawled through vents for six hours for this?


The sun has set once more by the time we make out back to our bookshelf.



We'll be stuck answer idiotic quiz questions forever.

Well, Mandy, anyway. Jake still isn't looking too hot.



...which is how many, exactly?

Oh god, game, if you have Morgrim steal all our crumbs while we sleep I am going to murder that rat.

Am I the only one finding the book title 'Penguins Keeping Time' rather amusing? No wonder he does when he keeps having time rewinded for him.

The final morning. Now or never.



That's strange, Andy's usually here to greet us by now.

Oh well. We'd better haul our asses over to Morgrim's mousehole.



Turns out Andy got caught sneaking us crumbs. I can see the Gossip Gangsters went really hard on him.

But thanks for risking life and...limbs, Andy. We've got all the crumbs we need though.



Yeah, thanks for everything.



Haha. You just won't let up, will you, Andy?



WORTH IT.

I found it funny too.

You... Didn't accept the last deal?
You sure we have everything we need?

It takes Jake more than a few moments to redistribute the blood in his body.



Empty threat. You'd probably get swept up along with us.

Here, take a look at what's inside this sack.



...yeah. Thought so. Probably sold his own mother for cheese, too.



The deal is made. Off to the shrink ray!

I wish I felt alert enough to make some joke about how rats push many people's buttons.

As bad as Jake is at climbing, Morgrim is even worse. We've got a few minutes to chat.



I can still hear Jake's stomach grumbling.



Nevermind, that was just Jake.



WhaddidItellya? Gossip Gamblers.



...behind that calm, cheery smile lies the scheming mind of a ravager.

MORGRIM, SIT ON THE BUTTON NOW.

In between the Baggy Bug's cries for "One more round!" Mandy and Jake manage to say their farewells.





...You're as weird as Mandy, Jake.



Even Andy knows it. At least you're both equally weird.



Jake and Mandy returning to their proper size and squashing everyone in the process.