We all know the classic, beloved Garten of BanBan character Handy Dan right? The purple beaver that eats nails for breakfast and doesn't afraid of anything? Yeah, of course, why am I even asking? But do you know the TRUE, SAD backstory of this icon of pop culture? The real one, not the ones those CHARLATANS on YouTube or the Wiki might say. Trust me, my dad works at Nintendo.

Our story begins with a young man named Daniel Harrington, a man with a dream, to become a world famous YouTuber just like his idols Logan Paul and SammySonicFan. Problem was, he had already tried seemingly everything from let's plays to unboxings to mukbangs to 3 A.M. challenges, he'd dipped his toes into as many pools as possible, but nothing worked, nothing got him views or comments or even a measly RAID: Shadow Legends sponsorship!

So now, standing before the old, dilapidated building, he readied his phone camera as he started his last ditch venture, urban exploration. His best performing video was "SPENDING 24 HOURS IN A HAUNTED WALMART (NOT CLICKBAIT) *ALMOST DIED*" at 5 likes and 169 views, and while the Walmart wasn't really haunted, nor did he technically complete the challenge (he got thrown out after 2 hours when the store closed. He really thought hiding on the top shelf in the garden section would've worked to be fair.), it was still a success worth chasing in his eyes!

Which all led him here, in front of... well apparently it was a kindergarten? Looked more like a sad abandoned office space to him, if not for the colourful signage hanging over the doorway, but that only made for a better set piece for his latest video endeavour. He took a quick photo with his phone, looking at it and already imagining the glorious thumbnail. Just a little bit of Photoshop to make it look more decrepit and scary and he'd be gravy!

With no obvious blockade or even a lock, Daniel stepped right through the front door, revealing... nothing particularly exciting. A wide space with greyish walls, the only colour besides the toys and small playground equipment pieces dotted around being a large mural depicting the kindergarten's... mascots? Wait, was that a thing kindergartens even had? Ah, whatever.

Stepping closer, he took another cursory photo, quirking an eyebrow at the strange figures. There were some regular-ish looking characters, a pink bird, brown frog, purple kangaroo... but what was with these other weirdos? Some big green guy, a blue spider thing, and some goofy looking red dude? Daniel could only assume they let the kindergartners themselves come up with these mascots.

As he turned around, he paused. Was that bird... always there?

It was purple feathered and as tall as him. Immediately he realized it was supposed to resemble the bird on the mural, but what was it, some kinda statue? The way its eyes just stared ahead you'd think it'd scare kids that young, sheesh. No wonder this place was empty.

Chuckling to himself, he stepped closer to the still bird, positioning to take a photo of the odd centrepiece.

"Man, hope they blacklisted whoever made this. That or sent him the therapy bills for all the traumatized kid-"

Daniel didn't get to finish that remark, as with a blink the bird was on him, pinned down by its talons and beak inches from his face, phone skittering away out of his grasp.

"Agh! Jesus get off me!" Dan struggled, trying to push the feathered fiend off, to no avail. He felt its talons dig into him, tearing holes in his shirt as he yelled out in panic.

Suddenly, the bird pushed him away across the smooth floor, flapping its wings as if in indignation, but expression remaining blank, eyes unblinking.

Before Daniel could scramble up to his feet, he felt a jolt, before the floor gave way beneath him, having been left on a trap door by the avian.

And so he tumbled, screaming out as the light from above faded, wind passing by his ears until, with a thud, he hit the ground and passed out in a surge of pain.

-

Waking up, he found himself in a blank, white room, more sterile than any hospital he'd ever seen (and he'd been to an embarrassing amount). Pushing himself up, he looked around with bleary eyes, trying to get his bearings.

"Ah, good to see you awake. Was worried you had died, no use in a corpse."

Turning to the voice, Daniel gaped at the sight. While the voice was that of an older, but otherwise normal man, the figure it came from...

It was another one of those mural mascots brought to life. This time of the red figure in the centre, seemingly the main character of the group. His skin was smooth and hairless, hands like mittens and feet simple, flat things with no toes. His horns were covered by a pair of striped party hats, and his eyes resembled googly plastic facsimiles, tongue sticking out seemingly not impeding his speech.

The red creature approached, Daniel shifting back in fearful confusion.

"Who are you? Where the hell am I??"

"Hmm? You don't recognize me from the decor?" He chuckled, his voice sending a shiver down Daniel's spine. "It's me, BanBan... your new best friend~"

Daniel froze up at this point, unsure of whether to run or stay still, just trying to understand what on earth was happening.

"G- get away from me you Play-doh freak!" Daniel tried to futilely kick at the crimson figure, strain in his voice doing little to help him intimidate as it reached to forcefully grab his arm, pulling him close enough to see the plasticy sheen of BanBan's artificial flesh.

"Now now, that's no way to speak to a scientist..." Daniel felt a sting in his arm, looking down to glance a syringe with it's needle jammed in, some strange green substance being injected into him, already the injection site burning.

Daniel finally escaped the monster's grasp, only to fall to the floor as pain shot down his arm, shuddering as it the burning spread through his bloodstream, his entire body feverish and beading with sweat. All the while he hadn't noticed a few sparse hairs of light lavender fur sprouting from the injection site.

"You know, I've yet to experiment with rodent DNA yet, you're just lucky I didn't go for the cliche and make you a lab rat."

"Wh- what the fuck are you-!?" He stopped as his hands pulsed. Looking down, Daniel gasped in horror at them as they visibly swelled in size, skin between his fingers growing like webbing, nails stretching into small claws as the skin turned as darker shade of purple from his fur.

His scream of terror was cut off as he groaned, his teeth and jaws aching like he just chomped on a stone. His mouth opening slightly, his two front teeth made a grinding sound as they grew, broadening into a pair of great buck tooth slabs, permanently jutting out of his face.

"Nff- mmmpf!!" He grunted, stomach rolling as the fur spread downward, abdomen gurgling and swelling as his belt buckle snapped. It felt plush, almost like a toy as he put a hand to it in disbelief, the rest of his body following suit as his clothes frayed from his burgeoning form.

He fell to his haunches, thighs and legs growing and tearing at his pant legs, more animal-like as his shoes tore open, revealing webbed digits much like his hands, but there was an enormous pressure on his spine, the seat of his pants pressing hard against some strange growth as he blushed and panted, still barely understanding what was happening.

The pressure grew, seat tearing as a large, purple paddle started to emerge, before finally springing out, smacking against the floor with a loud smack. A broad, flat tail, almost as big as his entire body.

It didn’t stop there though... There was still a strange sensation coming from the new limb as it spasmed, lifting up as if on it’s own volition. Daniel’s head pulsed as his face cricked into a small snout, rodent nose twitching as his ears crawled up his head in the form of small mounds.

He closed his eyes, only for another pair to open from somewhere behind him, gazing at the back of his own head before moving to peer over his shoulder. Turning his head in a daze, he realized another set of eyes had formed on his tail, soon followed by a second mouth tearing open, this one with sparse, sharp teeth rather than his rodentine bucked pair.

“Verrrry interesting. Wasn’t expecting the secondary face, but that’s the unpredictability of Givanium, no?”

Daniel stared down (and at) himself in horror. How- how did this freak turn him into a giant beaver? And why?

“I- I can’t go home like this!” He whimpered, covering his fuzzy cheeks with webbed paws. “Th- they’ll call animal control, or a zoo, or- or some TikTok influencer!”

“This is your home now.” BanBan said matter-of-factly. “I’m the only one who can reverse this. So if you ever want your old life back, you do what I say.”

The way he said it was both threatening and... strangely comforting. Could Daniel trust him?

...

He didn’t have much choice.

-

And that’s the TRUE, TRAGIC BACKSTORY of Handy Dan. Trust me, when Garten of BanBan Chapter 47 comes out you’ll see. YOU’LL ALL SEE-