Gnomes

Gnomes are a race of thumb-sized, hyper-verbal microfolk residing in the hidden margins of Sala City. Though rarely seen, they play a subtle role in maintaining (and occasionally disturbing) the balance of domestic entropy. First appearing in the non-canon episode We Got Gnomes, these pint-sized beings embody bureaucracy, unionism, and a touch of chaos.

Personality

• Collectively Bureaucratic: Gnomes exhibit an innate passion for rules, fine print, and footnotes. Entire social hierarchies revolve around who best interprets clause 7 subsection D.
• Proud & Articulate: Despite their size, they speak with startling confidence—every gnome considers themself a natural-born lawyer.
• Union-Minded: Gnomes rarely act alone. They form small guilds, collectively referred to as “nests,” where they draft bylaws about tea times and sock residency.
• Playfully Defiant: They delight in bending rules, so long as they can cite why it’s technically allowed.

Abilities

• Legal Mimicry: Able to reproduce human-style bureaucracy in miniature, including contracts, permits, and protest signage.
• Micro-Engineering: Known to construct thimble-sized infrastructure such as staircases, elevators, and filing cabinets using repurposed staples and bottle caps.
• Camouflage: Gnomes can remain unseen by simply being boring to look at—a psychological defense perfected over generations.
• Nocturnal Chanting: Their rhythmic “gnom’gnom’gnom’” chorus serves both as alarm and meditation ritual.

Appearance

• Height: 2–3 inches tall.
• Build: Compact and sturdy, shaped like living chess pieces.
• Eyes: Usually brown or green, with perpetual administrative fatigue.
• Clothing: Pointed hats (mandatory per union charter), patchwork suits, and belts holding stationary tools.
• Distinctive Trait: Each gnome carries a personal seal or stamp for signing documents—even verbal agreements.

Relationships

• Dook — Treats them with cautious fascination, describing them as “bureaucratic dreams condensed into creatures.”
• Flops — Initially skeptical, later develops grudging respect for their organization skills after the sock incident.
• Odie Yotie — Acts as their legal adversary and occasional collaborator; some speculate he’s represented gnome clients in secret.
• The Stoat — Provides housing for a trio of gnomes in his kiosk following the events of We Got Gnomes.

Culture

Gnome society thrives on paperwork, coffee grounds, and community bylaws. Every colony has at least one “Minutes Keeper,” a historian who records the proceedings of even the most trivial debates (e.g., whether spoons count as bowls). Their festivals involve synchronized stamping and tiny confetti made from shredded receipts.

Trivia

• The official term for a group of gnomes is a “committee.”
• The shortest recorded gnome law text still contained 87 subsections.
• Gnomes regard socks as sacred nesting grounds—warm, cotton-lined, and easy to defend.
• Bunnyrack O'Bunny once signed an ordinance exempting them from city rules, possibly as a prank.
• Gnomes never admit to magic, insisting all phenomena can be explained by “microclimate jurisprudence.”

“Every clause is a cause, and every cause needs applause.” — Gnome proverb